A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 10

March 14, 2011

Today we had an early morning. We left the hostel to catch our train in Padua. This time we were a bit nervous on the train because... we couldn't find Jeff's Eurrail! We were all praying and trying to stay calm as we helped him go through his bags and sort through papers, until we finally found it in his Soprani's bag!

When we arrived in Padua, we hopped on the bus to St. Anthony's Basilica. Before a beautiful Italian Mass at 7:30am, they said morning prayer in Italian. Then we walked around the church for about an hour. I was able to touch St. Anthony's tomb and venerate it. In the reliquary, we saw his jaw, tongue, and voicebox.

There was also a gorgeous picture of St. Maximilian Kolbe with his dead body on the ground and his "resurrected"/pre-Auschwitz body above. Also, there was a Eucharistic chapel with 2 angels holding candles in the front.

St. Anthony's Basilica

We were also able to make a short visit to St. Matthew's which was just up the street aways. There were relics of Sts. Matthew and Matthias.Within 10 days, we saw relics of most of all the 12 Apostles and Paul and Matthias.

St. Matthew's

It appears as if I did not record anything from the trip back. Let me see if I can recall it.

We took the train to a certain place and then we switched to a double-decker bus. Emily and I sat in the front row of the top, so we had a fantastic view. And we walked about Lord of the Rings and how our travels relate to it-- especially as far as carrying around something extremely valuable and living on bread!

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 9

March 13, 2011

Today we saw all of what there was to see in Venice. We all tried to sleep in, but all of us got up before the alarm. So, we took our time to get ready before we made our way over to San Marco's Cathedral. It was beautiful-- covered with Byzantine-style icons! I wish I could have had more time in there and taken pictures. Mass was in Italian with the common prayers in Latin. After Mass, they put ashes on our heads like on Ash Wednesday.

San Marco's Cathedral. No photo inside.

We ate pizza for lunch and tried to find the treasury. But since we couldn't, we went on a gondola ride and saw the Bridge of Sighs, Marco Polo's family's residence, a church, a bank, a post office, and some royal residences.

Regina, Emily, me, and Jeff on the gondola! Unfortunately,
our driver did not sing to us.

Regina and the Merchant of Venice!!
(in the background-- you can only see his head...)

We sighed as we walked over the Bridge of Sighs and found the treasury in San Marco where we saw some more relics (including St. George's arm and a stone from Christ's Scourging). We were going to pray in the church a bit, but they wanted us to keep moving.

Me and Regina and the Bridge of  Sighs-- which we sighed as we walked across.

Then we got gelato, groceries, and postcards before we walked back to the hostel and met our other roommate.

I'm riding on a lion just outside San Marco's!

Emily, Marianne, me, and Regina pausing for a quick moment
on one of the many bridges over the canals.

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 8

March 12, 2011

Today, we made our way to San Francesco-- the Basilica of St. Francis where we had Mass. Then we had a walking tour with Sr. Carrie Ann. At the Basilica, we were unfortunately unable to see St. Francis's tomb because they were doing renovations. However, we were able to see the reliquary of St. Francis, which included his special shoes from St. Clare, his habit, and the cover for his side wound.

San Francesco Basilica

The Bishop's residence just outside St. Mary Major.

Then, we prayed a walking Rosary as we walked up the hill to St. Mary Major, which is just outside the Bishop's residence (where St. Francis returned his clothes to his father). Then we went where St. Francis's father's cloth shop was and where his father chained him up. It is now a beautiful church.

A statue of St. Francis's parents outside the
place where his father chained him up. His mother is
holding chains since she released him.

The church which used to be Francis's father's cloth
shop and where he was chained up.

After lunch, Jeff, Marianne, Regina, Emily, and I made our way to the train station to leave for Venice. We were early, so we were able to go back to the Portiuncula church again. On our way, we passed through Florence and Bologna.

On the road to Venezia!!

Farewell, Assisi!

In Venice, we found our hostel (the Venice Fish) which had its own private bridge entry. It was a bit sketchy, but they fed us pasta and we all shared a room-- thank goodness!!

The Venice Fish-- our hostel. Isn't this a nice bridge?

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 7

March 11, 2011

Today we had breakfast and then set our for Santa Chiara, just a block down from the hotel, and there we had Mass. There we saw the "original" San Damiano Cross which spoke to St. Francis, St. Clare's Tomb, her hair, and other relics.

Then we walked down to San Damiano where we saw where the Poor Clares lived and where St. Clare died.

After lunch, we did a pilgrimage up to the hermitage where St. Francis lived his contemplative life. Olivia and I prayed in his cave before we did Stations. We also had a St. Clare group meeting before I was able to spend some time alone. The walk down the hill/mountain was absolutely beautiful!

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 6

March 10, 2011

Today we began the Assisi part of our pilgrimage. After eating and loading the buses, we said goodbye to Rome and headed for Assisi. On the bus ride, we did Morning Prayer and the Rosary in English, Spanish, German, Latin, and French.

In Assisi, we went to Our Lady of the Angels where the original Portiuncula is. We also got to see the Transitus Chapel where St. Francis died, the Rose Garden with no thorns, his cord, and places where he prayed.

Then we went back to the buses, checked in to the hotel, and ate lunch which was good and filling. Then we mozied around the town until we went to Mass at San Rufino which has the baptismal font where Sts. Francis and Clare were baptized. This Church is also where St. Francis preached and there is an absolutely gorgeous statue of Our Lady of Tears.

The Baptismal Font where Francis and Clare were baptized.

Afterwards, Julie and I went to the leather store among others and just had a grand time wandering around the streets of this old, fortified city before we had dinner and a holy hour at Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

A window for one of the Assisi schools

Wandering down the alleys of this medieval city

Sunset at Assisi

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 5

March 9, 2011

 Today is Ash Wednesday and Julie and I woke up super early and hopped on the Metro for the Vatican to go to Mass at St. Peter's because at 7 am, all the priests come out to the different side altars to say Mass. We found a Mass in English, but we couldn't hear it, so we went to Mass at a different altar in Italian. For the ashes, they didn't put them on our foreheads, but sprinkled them on our heads. Afterwards, we went to Confession and payed some in the church.

Good morning, Vatican!
The Vatican at sunrise: just before 7am!

Then we went to the Papal Audience in which Pope Benedict XVI talked about Lent and constant conversion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etq-8RBsX6E&feature=plcp&context=C4223e7aVDvjVQa1PpcFNg6BOQ4zWjnugKf1iQt-1PFtuQeNH_L6M=

Unfortunately, this picture is not very clear. It is of the Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI during our general audience with him.

After the Audience, Mike, Jeff, Katie, Julie, Emily, and I went to the Opus Dei headquarters to see the grave of St. Josemaria Esciva. Then we went to climb the Santa Scala on our knees, which Christ climbed when He was condemned to death.

Santa Scala: these are the steps Christ climbed as He approached Pilate.
St. Helena  brought them to Rome from the Holy Land.

We went to the Santa Croce where the have a Passion reliquary with St. Thomas' finger, the crossbeam of the good thief, pieces of the true Cross, rock from where Christ was scourged, two thorns from His Crown, and a nail; as well as the grave of a 6 year old whose canonization is in the process.

St. Francis in Rome! This statue actually directly faces St. John  Lateran
in memory of his visit to Rome to meet with the Pope.

 Julie and I went to St. Mary Major where they have a piece of the manger Christ was laid in. Afterwards, we went to the Purgatory Museum which was in a church. There, we saw signs from the holy souls in Purgatory who asked for prayers and left a sign.

Wood from the Manger where Christ lay after He was born in St. Maria Maggiore.

Castle of St. Michael. We didn't go in, but we were able to walk by it!

The Purgatory Museum was inside this little church.
We accidentally walked past it at one point!

It was a very wonderful Ash Wednesday.

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 4

March 8, 2011

Today, we commenced at 8am with a four hour tour! I was in Katie and Fr. Brad's group. We got to see many churches and fountains. I could barely remember what we saw during the day when I went to do my journaling in the evening! Praise God for perseverance!!

Roma!!

A very large obelisk, which I believe is just above the Spanish  Steps.
Notice that unlike the one in the Vatican, this one still has pagan writing on it.

Me and Markita with our Roma bags as we walk down the Spanish Steps.

Me and the Trevi Fountain.

 The highlights include: a bone crypt of Capuchin monks, St. Agnes' Church, St. Andrew's Church, the Parthenon, Trevi Fountain, Our Lady of the Angels and Martyrs where Galileo was tried, and St. Ignatius of Lloyla Church.

After the tour, we headed for the metro with Fr. Brad, but no one knew where we were going, so we wandered around Rome for about an hour, enjoying Story Time with Fr. Brad and crossing the Tiber River at least 5 times! But it worked out because we got to see more of Rome (even pars that Fr. Brad hadn't seen before!) Katie, Hannah, Julie, Claire, and I got delicious gelatos and headed for the Vatican Museum, where they had me check my flute.

Yummy gelato!

This is where we got the gelato:
Old Bridge Gelateria.
It's just outside the Vatican!

There were so many people at the Vatican Museum, so we used the Buddy System-- Hannah was my buddy, and it was really cool to have another Catechetics major with me, because we understood the excitement of the other and had a grand time looking at all the religious pictures and deciphering all the different scenes of the Sistine Chapel.

At the Vatican museum, there was this gold ball. We're not sure what it was...

Nor were we sure whose head this is. But it sure is fun to speculate!!!

Doesn't this look like an Easter egg? It's a floor mosaic in the Vatican  Museum!

 Then we hopped on the metro for Mass at St. John Lateran's for which I played flute. This is where the Pope sits as Bishop of Rome, has the original altar at which all of the Popes have celebrated Mass, the heads of Sts. Peter and Paul, the table where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, and the tombs of 2 Popes.

Outside was the largest obelisk as well as the original baptistery where many of the first saints, martyrs, and other early Christians were baptized. (We were able to venerate it, but we went back on a different day, and we weren't allowed to-- whoops!)

St. John Lateran

Inside St. John Lateran. It's absolutely gorgeous!

The Baptistry

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 3

March 7, 2011

Today we ate breakfast at 6:45am and then headed for the Colosseum where we started our 1st tour of Rome, focusing on the early Christian Rome.

Julie, Markita, and me in front of the Colosseum!

We got to see the ancient Rome dug up, roads Peter and Paul would have walked on, and the graves of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. After the tour, I tried to meet back up with Julie and Claire at the Colosseum, but their tour went longer than mine, so I had to head for the Vatican by Metro and foot on my own, which was actually much less scary than walking the streets of London at night with Claire!

Some ruins from Ancient Rome...

The pretty white tower with a chariot on top!

Outside the Colosseum: reenactments. Notice the picture is taken
from a very far distance... with good reason...

 Then, I got pizza, met Regina in the Vatican security line and bag check in, and we went on our Scavi tour in which we went under the Vatican and saw the Necropoli of pagans and very early Christians.

**If you are intending on doing the Scavi tour, do not read this part: we ended the tour by seeing the bones of St. Peter, the first Pope, which are directly under the main altar in St. Peter's Basilica. ** Continue reading

After the tour, we went to Soprani's for souvenirs and rushed to Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls. It always takes you longer to get somewhere than you would imagine, so we arrived in the middle of the homily, but it was a beautiful church-- one of my favorites!

The inner dome of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

So, there's not many trees in Rome. But there's plenty of pillars!
Regina is demonstrating how we can be kind and loving to our neighborly pillars.

No, I am not made of stone, but don't I make a good statue?

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 2

March 6, 2011

Today we woke up early, ate breakfast, and took the Metro to our 7th European country-- the Vatican! It was soooo neat to walk in St. Peter's Square-- such a joyful moment to be in the Holy City! We first went up to the Cupula (it was only 5 Euros-- and no security line at 7:30AM!), climbing 551 stairs to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. First we were on the inside of the dome (which was just like the Kartause), walking around the main dome where the letters are 10 feet high, and then we climbed more stairs until we were walking on the roof, the height of the statues on top of the Basilica. Then, we climbed even more stairs (inside the dome, so it was a bit cramped inside) until we reached to top of the dome and we could overlook the city. It was a magnificent view of the city (and unfortunately, my camera deleted the pictures, so hopefully I can obtain some from a friend and post them on here).

Afterwards, we had just enough time to visit the Papal crypts, including that of Blessed John Paul II (after his beatification he was moved to the main Basilica). After Latin Mass in the Basilica (with many priests, bishops, and cardinals), we went outside for the Angelus with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg9Be5VXu24&feature=plcp&context=C4273f30VDvjVQa1PpcFNg6BOQ4zWjnh9pmnJRE0GdZzkWUfsweFQ%3D

After doing a little shopping and eating, we headed back through security and the Basilica for a tour of it with the seminarians.

Then, went to try to find Tre Fontana-- the place where St. Paul was beheaded. The directions were not very good, and it took us an hour to find it when it should have only taken us 15 minutes! But, I got to use my French a couple times, and we ran into a Marian apparition place at a Franciscan convent before we found a friar who directed us in the right direction and we found it. We got to pray in front of the 3 fountains where St. Paul's head bounced and we might have seen his crypt.

The church where the 3 fountains are that took us forever to find!!!

Then we made our way back to the hotel, late for dinner, but they had mercy and fed us before we had a holy hour down the street with benediction.

A year ago: Rome/Assisi Day 1

March 5, 2011

Last night we left Gaming at 7pm, drove through the winding, twisting roads of the Alps, and headed toward Rome as we watched Count of Monte Cristo and Roman Holiday. We arrived at the hotel at 8am this morning. After quickly settling in our room, Claire, Julie, Alexis, Mary Kate, Hayley, and I went to Netunno, which is just an hour train ride outside the city. It was a really cute town on the Mediterranean. We got to the Basilica Nostra Signora Grazie e Sancta Maria Goretti just closed because of the afternoon siesta. So, we walked around on the beach and gathered some sea shells and had a photo shoot. Claire and Hayley rode on the Carousel and we stopped at a little souvenir shop. When the church opened again, we were able to go in and see St. Maria Goretti's incorrupt body. No photos were allowed to be taken inside, but she was beautiful and pictures would not do her justice.

Using Italian was much more similar to French than German, so I was very glad when I was able to use my minimal Italian to help us find the Basilica and buy a train ticket!

Julie, Claire, and I enjoying ourselves along the
Mediterranean in Netunno, Italy during our photo shoot!