After the Basillica the group split and some went to the Parthenon while others went to the hotel and then walked around for a bit.

At about six everyone regrouped and was heading out for our last dinner. We were able to relax and enjoy each others company over this meal. However the best part of the day was at the very end in St. Peters Square when we did pass the candle. We held a candle and then told about a fun moment, a moment of wonder and then someone we would who we saw Christ through. Personally, my fun moment was talking with Father Nicola and realizing how fun he was. My wonder moment was atop the mountain feeling as though I was sitting somewhere that Francis may even have been. And I will tell you that I saw Christ in each and every person on this pilgrimage. We were all touched by God in one way or another. So as we say arrividercci to Italy and all the wonder she brought us, we say bon journo to the continuation of our pilgrimage because we know that the journey doesn’t end here.

Thus ends the Italy journal…

After settling in we headed off to the subway for a ride to the Colosseum. When we came out of the subway station there stood the massive structure built for the “entertainment of the Roman citizens”. The gladiator fights began with the games of feeding the Christians to the lions. What an awesome feeling for each of the pilgrims to be standing in a place that’s almost two thousand years old. Shawn told us the inspiring story of Telemachus, a monk from Asia, who journeyed west at God’s insistence. Telemachus effectively ended the tradition of gladiator fights by being martyred at the Colosseum while yelling “in the name of Christ, stop!”

This has been a remarkable pilgrimage. The kids have grown in numerous ways: in maturity, spirituality, love and compassion. I will always feel in my heart the love they showed to each other and the leaders of this pilgrimage. Their prayers and reflections every day touched each one of us. While each of our locations offered insights into God’s love for us, everyone on the pilgrimage was touched by God in some way, in some place, in Assisi. Thanks Shawn and Cheryl.

After that we split into two groups. One decided to go hiking up a mountain while the other went to go explore the church that was built where St. Francis was born and lived.

The hiking group drove to Eremo monastery and then hiked the mountain behind it. We hiked for about an hour and a half to get to the summit. When we got to the top we were presented with a spectacular view of countryside, wild horses and hang gliders.

The two groups met up at St. Maria of the Angels. We were then given an hour to explore before meeting up again and heading back to where we were staying. St. Maria of the Angels is a cool church because it is a large cathedral with a small old church inside of it.

Once back home we were given time to find a passage in the Bible for our Via Crucis and to write a prayer. Later on that night we all helped to tell the story of Jesus death. This powerful story helped us realize just how much Jesus loves us and why we will always be eternally grateful. We then went to bed for some well needed rest and to prepare to leave Assisi and head to Rome.

Our first stop in Assisi was at the Basilica di Santa Chiara[Basilica of St. Claire]. Before we went into the church we did a Lectio Divina exercise about Matthew 10 verses 37 to 39. We also talked about the differences between a tourist and a pilgrim. We then went in to explore St. Clare`s.

After lunch the group split up. Some of us headed up to the Rocca Maggiore, a castle that sits high above Assisi. The rest of us stayed down below to explore Assisi.

Everyone met up again at the Basilica di San Francesco [St. Francis Basilica]. There we discussed forgiveness and had more time to explore the church.

Our dinner was highlighted by the cake we had to celebrate Debi’s birthday.

After dinner we had another session in the chapel, again discussing forgiveness. We then headed off to bed for some much needed rest after a long day.

Next we journeyed to Eremo where we started off with a little lesson about St. Francis. Eremo was Francis’ mountain retreat where he loved to go and pray. Shawn ran in to see if he could find a brother who spoke enough english to give us a tour. He found the unsuspecting Brother Nicola who said he didn’t speak much english (YEAH RIGHT!!!) But he was willing to give us the tour anyway. He showed us around, and even took us to the closed off areas where only the brothers are allowed to go. Next he led us down to the origional closed off chapel, which is only for pilgrims. Then he led us to the modern chapel where the group fell silent and took 5 minutes of prayer. After a few more hidden treasures, he pointed us in the direction of St. Francis’ cave.

We thought we were leaving and tried to say goodbye to Father Nicola one last time, but he told us to come with him. He lead us into the forbbiden kitchen where he served us coffee, tea, and cookies. Then he kept us laughing for an hour! Soon it was time to go, and we said goodbye one last time. We were all trueley touched by Father Nicola’s hospitality and endless kindness. None of us will ever forget that day. It seems that we are not just learning about St. Francis. Today it seemed like we met him!

Immediately afterwards we left for assisi and after stopping shortly for some amazing pasta near a sunny and breezy lake we arrived at our Assisi Gardens. After exploring the former monastery and using our free time for some quiet and games we headed to a delicious 3 course dinner.

Gathering on the balcony overlooking the Italian countryside we discussed some of the difficulties that we had identified that morning. Many tears later and after some thoughts from our leader on how to allow God to help us we wrapped up took showers and went to sleep ready for more excitement tomorrow.

We ate some delicious lunch and amazing gelati and headed to the Firenze Musei to see some great artwork. As we all sat behind Michaelangelo’s David (probably the finest sculpture in the world) admiring the craftmanship we split into groups to look at the rest of the art. We each found a painting or sculpture that captured our hearts. Mine was called Tempera on Wood. In the painting was of St. Barbara. standing on a man. This stood out to me because the time it was created didn’t seem like a very girl power era.

After enjoying the musei and then another round of gelati the group walked to dinner and promptly headed to the chapel where we contemplated how even with all the beautiful artwork that we had seen today, God thinks of us as His masterpiece and that each of us are as beautiful and intruiging as Davinci’s Mona Lisa or Michelangelos statue of David. After these revelations we went to bed.

Florence is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. We are staying in the gorgeous convent of St. Elisabettas. The gardens are filled with turtles, fish and birds. The chapel is simple and serene.

After settling, we hiked across the city to the Duomo, the 4th largest cathedral in the world, with a painted dome ceiling. We then saw the baptisty whose doors told the story of Jesus life. Dante was even baptized there. We learned the story of 2 artists who competed to design the doors. The loser would eventually design the Duomo.

Tired we stumbled back to bed. Italy is much more than expected.