Ravenna

I got on a train from Siena at about three on Friday and then went to Florence. I had an hour stop here before my next train and so I headed out to see the famous duomo, Santa Maria della Fiore! It is absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to get to see it more this next weekend when I will for sure be heading there for a full day! But after that short stop I go on the train and two and half hours later- having gone through the beautiful Apennine mountains with some amazing views- I was in Ravenna. I met my friend Patrick at the train station and we headed to the parish that he lives in. There are actually two churches there- Saint Mary Major- which was built after the council in Ephesus in 431 (and was actually consecrated before the church by the same name is Rome!) which proclaimed Mary, officially for the first time, as the theotokos or God-Bearer, and then the church of San Vitale, which is from 550 or so and has some absolutely beautiful mosaics! So I got settled there in the rectory and met Don Rosino who is the pastor there- a very good priest, who was extremely welcoming.


That evening we headed out with Don Denis, a priest from Michigan (Saginaw in fact- where the new Archbishop of Saint Louis came from!) also living and studying there, and met up with some of their friends from their language school for a dinner. It was interesting meeting these people from
various places like Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, and the Netherlands, and I think they were kind of overwhelmed by the fact that there were three young men who are desiring to be or are priests, because from the sounds of it they all have a pretty bad conception of the church and the priesthood. I ended up talking with this Calvinist guy from Switzerland for a while and it was so interesting- and sad- to hear how bad his experience with the church was, but also how little he really understood that religion was about and what the church is about. Europe is really in a sad state- most young people really dislike the church and think that it is a thing of the past that will soon be gone! They can use a lot of prayers so that hopefully they will come to see the beauty and love which Jesus and his Church are offering them! But after that Patrick and I, went and walked around San Vitale which was incredible and then spent some a few hours sitting and talking about the seminary, and the faith over some gelato (the gelato there was far inferior to the stuff in Siena!)

The next morning we went to mass at the parish and then headed out to see all the big churches there in Ravenna. There are several from the 5th and 6th century because the city was the center of the Byzantine empire for a time so the Emperor built a lot of big churches! They were all quite beautiful, but nothing as nice as San Vitale in my mind! We were church gazing for about 5 hours and after that- later in the afternoon we headed to the beach- the Adriatic Sea- which is only about a 15 minute bus ride from the center of town. I was lovely- the beach was packed, but we just chilled there and relaxed in the water for a few hours. It was very relaxing and nice to just be able to sit and think in peace- Despite the crazy Italians around! After dinner we got back to the rectory and the pastor was making us dinner! So we had a really nice Italian dinner, and it was so nice to just sit and talk- in Italian- with this priest and he told so many funny stories and legends about Ravenna and his life. It was a really cool evening. Fairly surreal to think about the fact at I was having dinner and talking in Italian to a random pastor in Italy! The Lord is truly blessing me with this incredible experience!

Finally on Sunday we had mass at 10:30 at San Vitale and I got to serve! It was so cool to be able to serve mass at this church which is some 1500 years old and to think that so many saints have said mass at the altar! I was especially thinking of all of my family and friends at that mass and just knowing that in faith and love were all were right there next to me! After mass we Americans cooked a nice lunch and we just sat around and ate and talked for a few hours about the church in Europe and how best to reach out to those who dislike the church or just don’t even understand the first thing about it! It was awesome- and inspiring – to hear the thoughts and insights of those guys and it gives me so much hope for the church in the US to know that all over the country there are good men whom God is calling to lead his church as priests and pastors! After having seen one last church that afternoon, I left Ravenna about 5 on Sunday and despite almost missing my connection in Ravenna (I was running through the train station, I probably looked ridiculous!) it made it back safe a sound. European Trip 1: Mission Accomplished!

I hope that all is well back at home and that everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer before school starts up! This is truly the longest summer of my life seeing as I don’t start school until October! I will hopefully get another post up this week about all this weekends events around the feast of the Assumption and the Palio! It was awesome! Be assured of my prayers, please keep me in yours. VIVE JESUS! Caio!

Siena- Prima Settimana

Ciao! I hope that this finds everyone well. I have made it through my first week living and studying in Siena. I arrived here last Sunday afternoon after a two hour bus ride from Rome. Siena is north of Rome, in the region of Tuscany. It is a small medieval city that still is enclosed by its original walls from around the 13th or 14th century! When my five classmates and I arrived here we headed to the Church of San Francesco where we would are staying and meet Padre Paulo who is one of the friars living here. We dropped our bags off in our rooms and then headed out to see some of the city.

Our first stop was the Dante Alighieri Language School which is where we are studying Italian for the next few weeks. It is about a 15 minute walk from San Francesco and we are studying there with students of various ages from all across the world. I was placed in an intermediate class with 7 other students- two from the States, along with some from France, England, Holland, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. We have lessons for six hours a day (pretty exhausting!) with three hours in the morning with my professor Enzo, and then three in the afternoon with my private tutor Manuela who is teaching us theological language and other important things like the mass and how to go to confession in Italian. I meet with her in private lessons for two hours each day and talk about all sorts of different topics. (she happened to study medieval philosophy in college and loves theology! So it has been fun learning how to talk about the Trinity and grace in Italian!) After five days of class I feel like my language is getting much stronger and it seems that at this rate I should be close to fluent by the end of the month. Please keep us all in your prayers for the gift of tongues!

After seeing the school that Sunday we headed off to see the rest of city- and wow is it beautiful! It is really the little Italian town I have always had in my mind- small stone buildings, with bright colored shutters, flowers, and lots of little café’s and bakeries. But even more than this- it is a city that is filled with the glories of Catholicism! There are beautiful churches around every corner, and lovely frescos and statues of the Blessed Mother and the saints, carved and painted into the side of the houses and buildings! It is such an experience to just walk the streets and to think that these streets have been walked by so many saints, like Saint Catherine and Saint Bernardine, and even ordinary men and women who have seen these same images and worshiped in these same churches for more than eight centuries! We have been going to mass most days either at the basilica of San Francesco which is connected to our residence or to the Casa di Santa Caterina which is a Dominican convent which has been built on the site of Saint Catherine of Siena’s lifelong home! It is truly amazing to celebrate mass in the churches where the saints prayed, and realizing that they are still present with us through the communion of the saints.

The two biggest attractions here in Siena are the Duomo, Santa Maria della Assunta, and the famous piazza del campo. The Duomo is one of the first gothic churches built and it is absolutely gorgeous (it is the church that I am standing in front of above). The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, who is the patron of the entire city. On the feast of the Assumption, August 15th, there is a huge festival here in the Siena that goes for a few days. On the 16th there is a famous race called the Palio which is run in the central piazza, the Campo. The Campo is a shell shaped piazza about the size of a baseball field and the main government building and clock tower of the town are there. On the 16th each of the neighborhoods or contradas in the city enter a horse in the Palio which is a race around the outside of the campo. (This was pictured in the opening scene of the most recent James Bond movie if you want to see it in action!) But it is a huge event and all the people get very into it- dressing up in medieval costumes and putting on performances for the days leading up to the race. I will make sure to post pictures and give an account of it when it happens in two weeks.

It has been a great week here in Siena and while the first couple of days of trying to find food for myself, and adjusting to lots of Italian class were difficult, it is a great city and it is going to be a great month! Know that you all are in my prayers and I miss you very much. I hope that you all had a good feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola on Friday! Talk to you soon- I am planning at trip to Florence next weekend so stay posted for a report! May the peace and joy of the Spirit be with you. AMDG. -C