Milano

This weekend I went to Milan with a few friends. Visiting the tomb of St. Gianna Beretta Molla was definitely on my list of things to do while I was in Italy so I was thrilled to be able to do that. We left Florence early on Friday morning and took a train to Milan. The first place we visited was the Basilica of St. Ambrose and it was beautiful. He is buried in the crypt but this one was unlike any of the ones I have seen so far. When you walk down into the crypt you can see his skeleton through a glass wall. He is clothed in the garments of a bishop, he is even wearing his mitre! I don't know if they were hoping he would be incorruptible or something, but I was so surprised to walk down there and see his skeleton.  After we finished up our visit there we got on a train and made our way to Magenta to find the Basilica of Saint Gianna. Once we arrived we got on a bus to Meserro and explored. I was expecting to find a huge Basilica dedicated to this beautiful saint. I was so surprised when arrived at a normal cemetery where hundreds of people were buried. In the corner of the cemetery is a simple mausoleum for the Molla family. Saint Gianna is interred there next to her husband Pietro who just died 2 years ago. It was so peaceful and a huge blessing to be able to pray in front of the tomb of this beautiful woman. I read in a book that someone described her has a woman of "great humility with an energetic strength of character" and I just thought that was one of the most beautiful things ever. After some prayer time I made friends with a sweet Italian woman named Pietrina. I was walking around when she came up and asked me something in Italian. I was so flustered by the Italian that I just smiled and shook my head at her. After she walked away I realized she had just asked "Dove abiti?" (Where do you live?) and I felt like I missed out on a great opportunity to practice my Italian so I went and found her again and said "Abito in America" (clearly, as if she hadn't figured it out by the fact that I was wearing my backpack on the front of my body), but she was so sweet. She smiled at me and we had a nice, very broken, conversation (she didn't speak a word of English and my Italian knowledge is extremely limited). Also, I have found that most people want to know where in America I am from, even though they usually only know California and New York. When I say "New Mexico" they usually respond with "Ohhh, Mexico!" Nope, not Mexico. But its pretty tough to explain this to people when we are speaking different languages. It makes for lots of awkward moments and funny stories later though! One of the things I miss most about home is strangers who speak English. Anyways, after we left the cemetery we went down the road to the Basilica dedicated to her. It was very simple but beautiful! On Saturday we took a train to Lake Como and spent the day exploring around that area. It was so beautiful! There was some sort of a boat race going on. It was really cool - these boats looked just like race cars and they went on this curvy path on the lake. There were a few helicopters flying right over them to film them so that is neat. We had a little picnic in the park and it was a great, relaxing day. We got up early Sunday morning to go to Mass at the Duomo in Milan. I tried to understand as much of the homily as I could and I actually kind of surprised myself with the amount that I picked up. It was "seminarian Sunday" and the priest talked about how no matter what our vocation is, every one of us is called to a vocation of joy. He said we all need to be joyful like little children and spread Christ's love through our joy. It was great. We finished the trip with some exploring through Milan and made it back to Florence in time for dinner. 

Basilica of St. Ambrose.

Skeleton of St. Ambrose.

St. Gianna!

Very special prayer time in front of the tomb of a beautiful woman.

Altar dedicated to St. Gianna.

Lake Como.

A beautiful church near the lake. Unfortunately it was closed but it was pretty on the outside.

Awesome boat race on the lake.

Some random hands in a park.

The beautiful duomo in Milan. (Still not totally sure why they call it the "duomo", there is no dome...)

Inside of the duomo.

Firenze

We arrived in Florence on Monday morning and dove right into this beautiful place! We are staying at a little place called Villa Morghen. It used to be a Benedictine Monastery until a few years ago when it was transformed into this beautiful, quaint little villa! It is so beautiful! On Tuesday morning we started class. I love Italian class! I can't wait until I know enough to have a little conversation with the sweet old ladies at the church near the villa. After class we went right into town and straight to the top of the Duomo to get a better idea of how the city is laid out. We are staying a little ways out of town in Settignano, about a 20 minute bus ride to the center of Florence. The view from the top of the Duomo is absolutely unbelievable! That night we all went out for a welcome dinner and ate some delicious pizza. It was a nice evening filled with music and great fellowship. We continued with classes Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday morning we went on our first weekend excursion to Cinque Terre. It began with a hike comprable to La Luz (except the view was of the Liguarian Sea, not Albuquerque). It was really one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen. We walked through uneven trails surrounded by vineyards and olive trees. It was a tough hike but totally worth it. When we got to the third of the five towns we found a sign that said "To the Sea" - We followed it and sat by the water and talked for a while. We jumped in, swam, and watched the sun set from the ocean. It was lovely. Saturday we spent the whole day relaxing on the beach and strolling through town. Its been a great experience to meet new friends on the trip. There are 36-ish of us and I only knew about 10 before we got here. I am really enjoying the opportunity to make new friendships while we are all on this adventure together!

This is the view outside of our bedroom window at the villa.

Beautiful Florence.

Can't wait to explore more of this beautiful city!

So cool!

All the pictures in the world could not have captured how beautiful this actually was.

As I grumbled about being tired during the hike my friend Angela says, "Hey look, God put that flower there just so you could see it! He loves you so much!" Love that girl!

Beautiful sunset!

Survived our first night staying in a hostel!

Wine is everywhere!

The cute little towns of Cinque Terre.

Awesome day at the NAC

It was a beautiful day in Roma today! Perhaps one of my favorite on this trip so far. We had an early start to the day and went to Mass at the Pontifical North American College with the 240-ish seminarians who are studying there and probably about 30 priests who are doing some continuing education in the same area. We sang all four verses of the processional hymn and it still wasn't long enough for all the priests to make it into the Sanctuary. It was awesome. These guys are going to be a huge part of the future of the Catholic Church in the United States so it was neat to celebrate Mass with them. During the Eucharistic Prayer the priests said, "For Benedict, our pope and bishop" - it was so cool! After Mass we walked over to Trestevere and explored for a bit and made our way into a few churches that we had been wanting to see. We went to quite a few and more than half of them had weddings going on. Although it was a bummer that we couldn't see the churches, it was awesome to see so many sacraments being celebrated these last few days. As Michael said, it means that the Church is alive and that all of these churches aren't just museums! After some more wandering, we found a great little restaurant in the Trestevere area to have lunch and then Anne and I went back to the NAC and got an awesome tour of the place from two of the seminarians from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe - thanks Michael Niemczak and Christopher Bernabe! We heard some funny stories and learned a lot about all of the beautiful artwork there. We met the rector, Fr. James Checchio and Bishop Hebda of Gaylord, MI. We got a beautiful view of St. Peter's and all of Rome from the roof of the college as well. While wandering we found Archbishop Sheehan's and Monsignor Voorhies' photos from when they graduated from the college - that was so neat! The great day was concluded with Vespers there at the NAC and a nice walk back to the Residenza. We head to Florence in the morning where we will actually start class (I think I forgot what class even is!) I am sad to leave this beautiful place but I can't wait to see Florence. I look forward to returning to Rome next month for the canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekawitha! Ciao for now, Roma!

Beautiful view of the city from Trestevere.

Our Lady and St. Maximilian Kolbe at one of the churches we saw today (I think St. Dorothy).

The menu where we had lunch today... I am lovin' the broken English!

It was delicious!

Anne and I on the roof of the NAC.

Hooray for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe!

So these photos are in the dining room at the NAC... Best thing ever!

One day Pope Paul VI, Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI all went fishing together...

When they returned, Pope Pius XII asked them how big the fish was that they caught...

Pope Paul VI said "The fish was this big"...

Then Pope Benedict XVI said "Noooo, the fish was this big"...

Pope John Paul II said, "No, the fish was THIS big!'...

Then Pope John XXIII said, "I don't know how big the fish was but it was sure delicious!"

Last days in Roma

The last few days in Rome have been incredible. Thursday morning started with the Vatican Scavi tour. It was so moving to be able to go and pray in front of the tomb of St. Peter under the Basilica - literally the rock upon which the Church was built. After that we had the opportunity to pray in front of the tombs of many of the popes. After we finished at St. Peter's we made our way to the other 3 of the four major basilicas in Rome. First we went to Santa Maria Maggiore. That basilica is so beautiful and we spent some time in Adoration there. After that we went to Saint Paul Outside the Walls - also beautiful. We met some Benedictine monks and went to confession. Finally, we made it to Saint John Lateran where we finished the day with Mass. After Mass I joined a friend for dinner with some friends/seminarians going to the Pontifical North American College. We had a great time!

Friday morning we had an early start to the day and made our way to Subiaco where St. Benedict spent three years and built 12 monasteries. After being poisoned for the second time (and saved by the raven), he moved to Montecassino where he founded the first abbey, wrote The Rule of St. Benedict, and eventually died. In Subiaco we got to visit the cave where he spent most of his time while he was there. When we got to Montecassino we were able to pray in front of the tombs of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. Most of the monastery was destroyed by an accidental bombing by the Allied Forces in WWII and it has since been rebuilt. When the monastery was destroyed, there were more than a dozen monks inside and all of them survived. Also, a bomb landed on the main altar above the crypt, but it didn't explode. The remains of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were preserved. How awesome is that?! Both places were beautiful and tucked away in the mountains. It was a great experience.

This morning we did the Vatican Museum and saw the beautiful Sistine Chapel. When we finished there we had three churches in mind that we wanted to visit. Our first stop was the Church of the Twelve Apostles (again, I love that one!). However, when we got there, there was a funeral going on so we had to skip it. The next church on our list was the Church of St. Agnes where her head is kept. When we arrived there we found a Mass going on for the celebration of a 25th wedding anniversary so we had to keep making our way down the list. Finally, we wanted to visit the Basilica of St. Augustine and see the tomb of St. Monica. Of course, when we walked in, we found a baptism. Lots of sacraments being celebrated today! Luckily for us, the baptism was wrapping up and we were able to spend some time praying in that church. There was a beautiful statue in the back of the church called the Madonna del Parto (Virgin of Childbirth). During our journey trying to find each of these churches we found several other small churches including Sant'Andrea della Valle, the Church of the Holy Eucharist, and the Church of St. Mary Magdaline. 

Quick photo with the Swiss Guard! He was very serious. 

The wood of the manger underneath the main altar in Saint Mary Major.

Hooray! Chapel of St. Benedict in St. John Lateran.

The monastery that we visited in Subiaco.

The only painting of St. Francis that was done before his death in 1226.

Statue of St. Benedict in Montecassino. Only his head and hand were destroyed in the bombing, the rest is still the original artwork.

Oh would I love to go to vespers here! The choir at the Abbey at Montecassino.

No pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but here's a little taste of the beauty from one of the other rooms in the Vatican Museum.

I saw the Pope today!

I love the Pope! Just being in the same room with him (and thousands of others) is so incredible! Plus a bonus, there were bishops all over the place! The place was just beaming with awesomeness. When the Pope walked through the doors it was like I could literally feel his awesome, holy presence. It brought me to tears. He prayed something in Italian and then there was a reading from the Book of Revelation in 6 different languages. We all chanted the Our Father in Latin together. He greeted us in English and extended a blessing to all of us, our families, and our loved ones who are sick. It was such an incredible experience! God bless you, Papa! After the Papal audience we climbed to the top of the dome at St. Peter's Basilica. It was one looong, tiny, winding stair case to get to the top but it was totally worth it! Seeing the inside of the basilica from way up there is incredible and seeing St. Peter's Square and Rome from the top of the dome was so awesome. It was a beautiful day.

Yesterday we toured the Colosseum and the Forum in the morning. The Ravens sang the fight song again outside of the Colosseum. It was a gray and rainy day. After our tour we came back and caught up on some much needed rest. Tomorrow we are doing the Scavi Tour and then a few of us are going to do a trip around Rome to see the four major basilicas - St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major.

God bless! And pray for our Holy Father, Papa Benedict XVI!

Outside the Colosseum in the rain.

Inside the Colosseum (still in the rain).

Thumb wrestling with Anne in the Colosseum!

Roman Forum.

Hooray for new friends at the Colosseum.

I saw a Lebanon flag at the Papal Audience today! I got so excited that I'm pretty sure the people around me thought I saw the Pope. 

Gosh I was so excited to see the Pope!

Papa!!

I love the Pope!

From the inside of the dome - "You are Peter."

Beautiful mosaics in the dome.

St. Peter's Square.