To Rome - 6th Day (03/06/08)

I awoke on this day to my roommate, Beth, leaving for a dawn walk around the walls of San Gimignano. I myself could use another day here to take in the quiet, beauty and simplicity of this gem of a place. We planned to depart for Rome shortly after 10 a.m. so there was no arranged schedule other than suitcases and belongings downstairs in the courtyard by 10:20 a.m.

Most gathered for breakfast in the large dining room while some ventured out early to the intensely windy and cold open air market in the large piazza. A few wandered to grab a final cappuccino or a souvenir before our long bus ride.

I need to spend time with the Gozzoli frescoes, so I ask Ian to let me into Sant’ Agostino. No book, postcard, video, or photo can fully describe what it’s like to stand in that space where the friars met in daily prayer behind the main altar. I’m alone in the church to witness the color, scope, beauty, space and emotion of those 17 paintings which storyboard Augustine’s life.

Brian’s inspiring Wednesday tour brought me back this morning for more. My favorite depicts Augustine’s leaving Roma for Milano where Gozzoli illustrates in his facial expression “the restless heart.” Yesterday, Brian related that at this point in Augustine’s life, he was going towards the pinnacle of his career, yet his face tells us of his disinterest; he’s going through the motions, devoid of joy or fulfillment. At the right edge of this fresco, Gozzoli’s self-portrait stares at me, as he has stared at countless others since 1465, pointing his finger to indicate Augustine amidst the crowd.

At the appointed time, we rolled our suitcases across the courtyard, through the large wooden doors and down the steep ramp which leads out of the monastery. With the rumble of luggage wheels on cobblestone streets, we formed a train past Ristorante Il Pino, onto Via San Matteo, and exited the walls to reunite with Giancarlo, who stayed with his family in nearby Pisa these days without our need of a bus. We loaded our luggage with grazie e arrivederci to Fr. Brian and Fr. Ian and headed for Rome.

Fr. Joe led us in prayer each morning on the bus’s microphone. Shortly thereafter, Fr Joe once again shifted gears for a few jokes and funny stories. Today, however, other pilgrims were ready to respond in kind .... After Fr. Joe's “Two all-beef patties, Special Ross……on a Sesame Street bus” we were treated to "I left my harp in Sam Crab’s disco"; "It’s the bottom of the ninth….and the fans are going wild"; the infamous "He should’ve quit while he was a head" and the scandalous "Throw away your rosary, girl - our prayers have been answered!" In truth, you really had to be there.

At any rate, we stopped for pranzo along the highway at Sardi’s right past Orvieto and arrived in Rome around 4:15 p.m.

Our accommodations are at Casa per Ferie S. Maria Alle Fornici,
a residence maintained by the Trinitarian Order. We clearly see the dome of St. Peter’s as we disembark the bus. We also know that this is arrivederci time for Giancarlo and our group. Having passed a hat to collect a small expression of our appreciation, Chrissy rehearsed our thank you and farewell in Italian, which she delivered perfectly.

Giancarlo was a good and faithful servant to our group. Each day brought a new adventure with him. He tutored us in Italian, laughed at our jokes, lifted and hauled our baggage with care, shepherded us through the Monday morning traffic of Milan, helped us on/off the bus, kept us on schedule with flying rather than driving. I hope that future Villanova Pellegrini have someone like Giancarlo to make the bus rides interesting. Grazie, Giancarlo!

We unload and unpack, then meet Fr. Joe in the lobby at 6 p.m. where he leads us to the Augustinian House of Studies outside of Vatican City- I’m talking literally, right next to Vatican City. It’s beginning to rain and turn dark, so we did not immediately recognize Fr. Tom Martin under his umbrella as he came outside to greet us. Fr. Martin spent spring break in Rome to work on his research. There are three buildings within this “campus.” Walking up the steep hill, we enter the Augustinianum, also known as the Patristic Institute.

Fr. Joe explained that the institute is administered by the Augustinian Order with a focus on Patristic Studies, it was founded in 1972 and confers bachelor degrees, licenses and doctoral degrees. Before that time, the Order offered degrees from Collegio Santa Monica AKA St. Monica’s College, which is at the bottom of the hill from the Augustinianum. St. Monica’s is an international house of studies, currently home for 58 students from 22 countries. The building contains residences, a Chapel, a refectory AND the most amazing terrace on the fourth floor which overlooks the dome and St. Peter’s Square. Fr. Joe lived here while he studied at the Gregorian. In the Augustinianum, we met Fr. Bob Dodaro, president of the Augustinianum, and a Villanova University graduate, who had Immer as a professor.

Across from St. Monica’s is the Curia, the administration building
of the worldwide headquarters for the Augustinian Order. We met
Fr. Michael DiGregorio, assistant general of the Augustinian Order
and member of the Villanova Province, who led us through the building. There was artwork on all of the walls from members of the Augustinian Order and we were delighted to see Fr. Richard Cannuli’s watercolors hanging in the halls. The building contains administrative offices, meeting spaces, a dining room, residences and a chapel. Among a great collection of portraits of Priors General of the Augustinian Order, we find the current Prior General Most Reverend Robert Prevost, O.S.A., who happens to be a VU grad.

As we left the Curia, we met Fr. Alan Fitzgerald, a member of the Villanova Province, and former Villanova professor who now teaches in Rome. We braved the steady rain to walk to Ristorante Polese, where we enjoyed a 3-hour dining experience with our group, minus Will who was still battling illness (we missed you, Will!). Joining us were Fr. Martin, Fr. Fitzgerald, Fr. DiGregorio, and Fr. Bob Guesetto, director of students of Collegio Santa Monica. Fr. Guessetto, a VU grad from the Villanova Province, was in the same class as President Fr. Peter Donohue and had Immer as a professor as well. After the wine, bread, lasagna, veal and potatoes, salad, tiramisu and limoncello, we walked back in the steady rain to our accommodations, preparing for an early rise to meet for Mass at St. Peter’s.

Thanks to pilgrim Bernadette for providing this record of the sixth day of our pilgrimage, and to all who have shared photographs for this entry.

San Gimignano - 5th Day (03/05/08)

We arise not to the warm Tuscan sun, but to the windy, chilly, rain of the early Tuscan spring. We even saw snow falling as we walked down to breakfast!! Perhaps partly because of the weather, our fellow Pilgrim Will found himself under the weather.

The morning brought what was the highlight for many of the pellegrini: the tour of the Chiesa of Sant’ Agostino, adjacent to the Convento Di Sant’ Agostino - the home of the famous Gozzoli Frescos, depicting the life of Augustine. Our gracious host, Fr. Brian, took us on a fascinating tour of the church, with its history and artwork. Its simplicity felt “of God,” and Fr. Brian’s passion for this holy place was shown through everything he said. The most inspiring part of the tour (and church) for these writers were the famous Gozzoli frescos depicting the life of St. Augustine.

The seventeen panels touched us each in a different way, I suspect. Augustine is often depicted multiple times in each panel. At first we see the restlessness of his heart in his face, until he hears the words “Tolle Lege” in the garden, reads the words of St. Paul, and finally rests in the Lord. He is freed from the turmoil of his youth and is able to embrace God, as he calls each of us to do as well. The rest of his life is spent trying to open the word of God, and bring God, to the people. Wanting to share this moment, artwork, and fuller sense of Augustine with his students, Immer has created a web site that highlights many of the panels combined with stories of Augustine’s life, found in the Confessions.

As we heard about the restoration process, we were astonished to discover that many of these great works of art were simply covered over for something "better." Mixed among these ancient treasures are now a modernistic sculpture, iron work and the main altar designed by Fr. Brian with the resident sculptor.

Before our exploration of San Gimignano continued, we were treated to a magnificent lunch prepared by Sant’ Agostino’s own Loretta. This dear woman, who discloses no recipes, can prepare a meal as scrumptious as any on the planet (in this writer’s humble opinion). We tried to see if she could fit in one of our suitcases, but apparently she is quite content continuing her life in Italy and living in Piazza Sant’ Agostino.

As we ventured out after our feast, at least some of us looked like we were wearing every article of clothing that we had packed to stay warm. We started as a group at the Duomo in the -- go figure -- Piazza del Duomo.

Again the frescoes take our breath away; one side of the church has floor to ceiling paintings depicting the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures, the other side has the stories of the New Testament including a beautiful fresco of the Last Supper. In the rear of the church are visions of heaven and hell, saints and sinners, facing each, with another of Gozzoli’s work showing St. Sebastian (complete with arrows, ouch!). We couldn’t help but wonder whether this church with these frescoes rivals in its own way the glories of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

The rest of the afternoon, people dispersed and followed their own interests. No doubt some enjoyed the “best gelato in the universe,” despite the chilly temperature, some walked the perimeter of this walled city, some climbed the towers for which this town is famous. Cappuccino, souvenirs, shopping, meditating, prayer, Mass, walking were all part of the afternoon. We had “dinner on our own” where we variously enjoyed Italian pizza and cuisine with, of course, some Chianti to embrace fully the Italian culture.

Thanks to pilgrims Kathy and Immer for providing this record of the fifth and rainy day of our pilgrimage, and to all who have shared photographs for this entry.

Rosia & Lecceto - 4th Day (3/04/08)

After our first night’s sleep in the 13th century Convento Sant’ Agostino, the bells of San Gimignano began to ring at 7:00 a.m. announcing that the Augustinian Friars were beginning their liturgical “Office of Readings” followed by meditation and morning prayer, which a few early risers among us joined.

Breakfast in the main refectory gave us the opportunity to wake up with cereal, bread, jam juice and delicious hot coffee. Before boarding the bus for our excursion of the day we packed a bagged lunch - Pranzo al sacco in Italian.

After all of our preparations we all walked out the Porta di San Matteo (one of the two main entrance gates to the walled city of San Gimignano) and we reunited with Giancarlo our amico (friend) and autista (driver) and we boarded the bus.

Fr. Brian Lowry, OSA, led the pilgrims to a wooded area known as Rosia and immediately after getting off the bus we began our walk to the Ponte della Pia, which is an old bridge with Roman foundations. This bridge leads to the ancient Roman road directing us to the hermitage of Santa Lucia which was off to the left side of the road and up another hill.

It was a hermitage tucked deep into the woods and was already in existence by the time the Augustinian Order was formed in 1244; most likely it goes back to a 9th century foundation.

Although it is no longer in use, one can still imagine what it was like to live there as one can see the outline of the wall of the church next to the three story building which was the old hermitage. The bravest of the pellegrini ventured into the building and up the stairs to the upper floors where tiny windows provided light and also a nice frame for the pellegrini who remained outside to take some nice photos.

After Fr. Brian gave an explanation of the hermitage we all had some time to walk around and explore the surroundings. (It was near the end of our visit to Santa Lucia hermitage when pilgrim Kathy Byrnes had her St. Rita experience with a thorn… well, almost like St. Rita!)

After our visit to Rosia and the hermitage we reassembled on the bus and Giancarlo brought us into another wooded area to spend a few hours with the Augustinian Contemplative sisters of Lecceto. Madre Sophia welcomed us and invited us into the inner cloistered courtyard to see the beauty of the early signs of spring surrounding the well with the symbol of the Siena hills and Lecce branches.

The Augustinian sisters have been in Lecceto since 1972, but it has a centuries old tradition of being a place of prayer for the Augustinian family beginning with the Friars in the 13th century. During our visit to Lecceto, Fr. Brian explained the frescoes on the walls of the inner courtyard which depict scenes from the life of the early Tuscan hermits of Lecceto. We visited the chapel and the chapter room (which now is too small for the community of sisters to use….a nice sign of growth among this contemplative group of Augustinian sisters).

Before gathering for mid-day prayer in the chapel, we had the opportunity to browse through the gift shop and admire the animated artwork of Sr. Maria Rosa. As usual, the sisters chanted their mid-day prayer with such devotion and attention to the prayer itself. It was a nice opportunity to join in the prayers of the sisters without us having to utter a single word; their voices carried us through the prayer.

After our pranzo al sacco we had some quiet time to sit and chat, take some pictures with arches and shadows, or simply to reflect and read in the peaceful surroundings of the convent grounds. These grounds are the same ones which Catherine of Siena used to enjoy upon her visits to her spiritual director, William Flete, OSA, acknowledged master of spirituality in the 14th century.

Upon returning to San Gimignano (about a 40 minute drive…..or nap) we gathered for our group photo on the back tower of the convento at Sant’Agostino. (The wind was really blowing up at the time of our photo shoot!).

We then had time for sight seeing, picture taking, shopping and gelato. Loretta, once again, outdid herself with a delicious spaghetti and tomato sauce, sliced turkey, and fresh salad.

Afterwards, we had a relaxing evening sitting around, chatting, and laughing. Most of the pilgrims took advantage of the free schedule to go to bed earlier than the normal hours we had been keeping.

Thanks to pilgrim-leader Fr. Joe for providing this record of the fourth day of our pilgrimage, and to all who have shared photographs for this entry.

Pavia & San Gimignano - 3rd Day (3/03/08)

After a delightful stay at La Villa Ciardi, we started out for Pavia. The wonderful breakfast and warming coffee had us fortified for the day ahead. Memories of Mario, Luigi and their friends had us visibly contented.

Shorlty after morning prayer led by Fr. Joe , our contentment was shattered. Giancarlo's outside mirror was clipped by an oncoming motorist, while making on a tight turn on a narrow road. A brief inspection revealed no damage and we were on our way once more. But then when we encountered traffic due to highway construction, Fr. Joe tried to explain the American thoery of "Murphy's Law" to Giancarlo.

Around 11:00 a.m. we arrived at Pavia. As Father related, Pavia is a University town, so there was much activity. After a 5 minute walk, we arrived at St. Peter's of the Golden Sky (Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro). The Church dates back to the twelfth century and is mentioned by Dante, as the inscription at the entrance affirms.

Left on our own for a short while, we eventually gathered for Eucharist in a side chapel. Fr. Chris celebrated; his sermon related St. Augustine's spiritual search to our own journey through life. This chapel contained picture albums which commemorated Pope Benedict's visit to Pavia on April 22, 2007. Fr. Joe was found in one of the pictures; he said the Pope was delighted to be present that day.

We then assembled in the main church. Fr. Joe talked to us about the life of Augustinian saint Rita of Cascia, as the altar to the right side of the church is dedicated to her memory. The side altar to the left is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

Above the main altar is the magnificent Ark of St. Augustine . The marble masterpiece, "commissioned by Bonifacio Bottigella, Prior of the Augustinians, then Bishop of Lodi and a native of Pavia, is a small encyclopaedic illustration of the faith of the theological, cardinal and monastic virtues. Some episodes of the life of St Augustine, the Great Doctor of the Church, are also portrayed: his conversion, his baptism administered by St Ambrose, the miracles after his death -430 AD - and the transfer of his relics to Pavia." The relics of St. Augustine lie at the foot of the Ark. Candles surround the altar attesting to the presence of Augustinians throughout the world.

The Crypt in the lower level of the church below contains the body of Liutprando, forever esteemed, for transferring the remains of St. Augustine to Pavia for their weight in gold.

After this informative visit, we boarded the bus for the long ride to San Gimignano. A stop at the Auto Grill satisfied our hunger and tested our limited Italian language skills. Just a few basic words, coupled with pointing here and nodding there was more than adequate. The Italian love of food is evident even at the rest stops! The scenic ride to San Gimignano was breathtaking; the fields reminded this writer of patchwork quilts.

We arrived at San Gimignano just as it began to get dark. The town, with its thirteen towers, stood out in the Tuscan skyline. We were greeted by Fr. Brian Lowery who led us through the walls of the tower to the Convento; it felt like we had traveled back-in-time.

Before dinner, Fr. Brian and Fr. Ian told us a little about themselves; we did likewise. We met Loretta, the Convento's chef, along with a local architect and a local sculptor.

Memories of Loretta will remain with us forever, for her cooking was WONDERFUL! Pasta, turkey, spinach and bread were enjoyed by all. After dinner, we were free to investigate San Gimignano by night.

On our return, we settled in for the first of three nights at the Convent after a full and eventful day.

Thanks to pilgrim Kathy F. for providing this record of the third day of our pilgrimage, and to all who have shared photographs for this entry.

Cantare a Pieni Polmoni

A highlight of the second evening was a serenade (full throated singing) by the Alpini. The singing chef, Alpini president, Luigi Bosisio and Marco Sangall led with gusto. Giancarlo, our driver and accomplished musician himself, eventually joined in as well.

Here is their song, with rough English translation provided by our own Padre Giuseppe.

AMICI MIEI

Quando ti prende la malinconia
Pensa che c’è qualcuno accanto a te.
Vivere non è sempre poesia
Quante domande senza un perchè.
Ma l’amicizia sai è una ricchezza,
È un Tesoro che non finirà,
Metti da parte questa tua tristezza,
Canta con noi, la tristezza passerà

Amici miei,
Sempre pronti a dar la mano,
Da vicino e da lontano
Questi son gli amici miei.
Amici miei
Mai da soli in mezzo ai guai
Questi son gli amici miei.

Quando ritorna la malinconia,
Questa canzone canta insieme a noi,
La tua tristezza poi se ne andrà via
E scoprirai in noi gli amici tuoi.
A volte basta solo una parola,
Detta ad un amico che è un po giù
Fare un sorriso che in alto vola,
Torna la vita, di nuovo si va su.

MY FRIENDS

When melancholy takes hold of you
Remember that there is someone near you.
Life is not always full of poetry
So many questions without answers.
But friendship, you know, is a gift
It is a treasure that does not end
Let it take the place of your sadness
Sing with us and sadness will pass.

My friends
You are always ready to offer a hand
From near and from far away.
These are my friends,
my friends
I am never alone in the midst of gloom
These are my friends.

When melancholy returns
Sing this song along with us
Your sadness then will go away
And you will discover in us your friends.
At times one word is enough
Said to a friend who is feeling down
Smile and your spirits will soar,
Life will return and you will fly high again.

A single word will forever be insufficient to describe our feelings for these treasured friends.