Franciscan Pilgrimage

BeyondAssisi

August 23 –September 6

2013

Arrival in Italy

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Our Franciscan Directors

Joanne Schatzlein, OSFAndré Cirino, OFM Murray Bodo,OFM

Our Pilgrim Group

Our First Pension

Registration

…in front of a beautiful rendition of the Chapter of Mats in 1221

In the garden there are lovely statues of Francis, Leo…

…and Clare

…as well as other friends of Francis

Our pension bordered the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels

…which is as beautiful at night as it is in the day

The Basilica houses the Porziuncola, the little church that Francis refurbished

Buona notte

Our first sacred journey traced St. Francis’ steps the day he left Assisi in order to give his

life completely to God

Sunday, August 25

Francis stopped at the Benedictine Abbey of San Verecondo in Vallingegno for food and lodging, and was sent to

the scullery to work!

Eventually Francis reached his final destination…

Gubbio

The ancient city of Gubbio looks as though it is pasted on the side of the mountain. The city is well known for the story of

Francis’ encounter with a ferocious wolf

The home of Francis’ friends, the Spadalunga family

During his stay in Gubbio, Francis nursed the lepers at the site of the Chapel of La Vittorina

Ninety year old Fra Domenico described Francis’ ministry at this holy site which André translated for us

Gubbio has one of the most endearing

statues of Francis and the wolf

There are many touching images of the two

We had a taste of inclement weather that day,

causing a tree to fall across the roadway

It hailed during our visit to the next little church

Few of us were as prepared as André!

Our first day ended with a delicious cena at

Domus Pace

The next day we boarded our bus forMonday, August 26

Foligno

Our first visit was to the Monastery of Sant’ Anna established by Angelina of Montegiove, a Third

Order Beguine, in 1385

Angelina’s incorrupt body rests here

André translated Sister Claudia’s presentation

The monastery is filled with magnificent frescos of every shape and color

Some frescos were even amusing!

Francis and Thomas Aquinas appeared in one of the frescoes

On the way back to Assisi, we passed Spello

After pranzo….

…we returned to Foligno

In the central piazza there is a plaque recallingFrancis’ sale of his father’s cloth to finance stones to

refurbish San Damiano

Our main focus that afternoon

was the Church of San Francesco…

…where St. Angela of Foligno, who died in 1309, is buried

Tuesday, August 27,2013

Cortona

The Basilica of Santa Margherita

We also visited

St. Margaret of Cortona

died in 1297. Her incor-rupt body lies behind the

altar

The statue of Margaret includes her faithful dog who led her to the body of her murdered husband

That afternoon we had a picnic pranzo at Lago Trasimeno

(The motorcycles were not ours!)

Charming little shops line the street across from the lake

After our picnic pranzo, we returned to Cortona and visited Chiesa San Francesco to visit the burial site of Brother Elias whom Francis appointed as his successor in 1221

Brother Elias was also the architect of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi

TodiWednesday, August 28

The Basilica of San Fortunato is the resting place of Blessed Jacopone

Jacopone was a great sinner until his

conversion by the grace of his wife’s tragic death

in 1268

"Here lie the bones of Blessed Jacopone dei Benedetti da Todi, Friar Minor who, having gone mad with love of Christ, by a new artifice deceived the world and took Heaven by violence.”

In addition to Jacopone two early martyrs are also buried in this sacred place: Sts. Callistus (3 c.) and Fortunatus (6 c.)

On the way to Montefalco we visited a lovely pottery shop

MontefalcoBenozzo Gozzoli painted famous fresco cycles on

the life of St. Francis in Montefalco

(Web photo – No photography allowed in museum)

MontelucoSanctuary of Franciscan Solitude

Thursday, August 29

Francis often spent time in solitude in this pristine

mountain forest above the city of Spoleto

He still has a friend living there

The Friars preserve ancient thirteenth century quarters in this

sanctuary

F

After pranzo, we visited the hilltop city of Spoleto

…and Spoleto’s Duomo that houses …

…Francis’ handwritten letter to Brother Leo

Brother Leo, send greetings and peace to your Brother Francis.

As a mother to her child, I speak to you, my son. In this one word, this one piece of advice, I want to sum up all that we said on our journey, and, in case hereafter you still find it necessary to come to me for advice, I want to say this to you: In whatever way you think you will best please our Lord God and follow in his footsteps and in poverty, take that way with the Lord God's blessing and my obedience. And if you find it necessary for your peace of soul or your own consolation until you want to come to me, Leo, then come.

The Cathedral of Spoleto also holds a crucifix painted by Alberto Sozio that closely resembles the San Damiano crucifix whose

origin is unknown

Sozio Crucifix San Damiano Crucifix

PerugiaFriday, August 30

The ancient Franciscan Friary at Monteripido is on the outskirts of Perugia

This is the resting place of Brother Giles, one of Francis’ first followers

There are many ancient artifacts preserved here

Here also, in the little known friary of Monteripido, we found a library with thousands of books…

…most as old as the Italian hills!

That afternoon we were free to wander on our own through the streets of beautiful

Assisi

…and to be with Francis in his resting place

In front of the basilica, the sorrowful Francis returns

home from war, realizing that God is calling him elsewhere

The imposing Rocca Maggiore has guarded Assisi since 1174, or earlier, when it was erected as a German feudal castle

Santa Maria degli Angeli rises on the distant plain below

That evening we enjoyed an outdoor pranzo, kindness of our gracious hostess

Lo Speco di NarniSaturday, August 31

Lo Specois one of many

mountaintops where Francis traveled for solitude and prayer. The Friars still live the rhythm of his

Document on Solitude.

We entered the cave where Francis prayed

Francis’ wooden-slatted bed is preserved in this crude stone structure

After our visit to Lo Speco, we traveled south past picturesque hilltop villages…

…through toll gates…

…and stopped for a halfway break

…before arriving at our

new pension in Rome

This magnificent building was originally the generalate of the Christian Brothers

The dining accommodations were impressive!

Celanois the birthplace of

St. Thomas of Celano, the first biographer of

St. Francis

Sunday, September 1

The cloister is filled with magnificent murals—most serious

… and a few once more amusing!

After Mass,

which we celebrated

daily,

we went below the altar…

…to see more magnificent frescos

Tagliacozzois Thomas of Celano’s nearby resting place

The village of Tagliacozzo is charming

Pictures from the busRome

Monday, September 2

The Vatican dome

Vatican colonnade

The Tiber

TheColiseum

The Roman Forum

Public water fountain

Inside the grill, a poor child puts his

hand into the mouth ofthe lion who bites it off if the child has ever told

a lie!

Our destination: The Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Santa Maria in Aracoeli is on the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. From the exterior, it appears quite plain

Front entrance Side entrance

However the interior is extremely ornate

This is the resting place of Brother Juniper, another one of Francis’

first followers

The next sanctuary we visited was on another one of Rome’s seven hills…

The Convent of St Bonaventure

of Barcelonaon the Palatine

St. Leonard of Port Maurice

is also remembered in this Palatine sanctuary

Bagnoregio

Tuesday, September 3

Birthplace of St. Bonaventure,

the Seraphic Doctor

A simple Italian village with an amazing history

The parish church preserves the arm of Bonaventure encased

in gold

After visiting the church, we walked to what looked like the end of town…

…but we had a magnificent surprise awaiting us—Civitá, a piece of the original city of Bagnoregio

Pranzo in view of the idyllic hilltop town was a perfect prelude our visit!

Fortified by a delicious meal…

…we were ready for the challenging trek up the

path to the village where, for safety’s sake, no motor vehicles are

allowed

Once inside the gate…

…we visited the site of St. Bonaventure’s home

after hundreds of years ofdevastating

earthquakes,

…only part of which,

still stands on the other side of this

wall

The Cathedral of San Donato where Bonaventure was baptized is also on this pinnacle

We wandered through the earthquake-prone village where only 15 families…

…and a few of Francis’ other fearless friends,

now live

Rick Steves says of this traffic-free community :

“A man with a Vespa does the same work his father did with a donkey

— ferrying the town's goods up and down the

umbilical bridge that connects Civitá with a small, distant parking

lot and the rest of Italy.”

That explains this photo in the “traffic-free”

community!

The gardens in Civitáare magnificent!

…as are the flowered façades

…and pathways

Heading down the mountainside…

… was much easier than going up!

Wednesday, September 4

Anagni

St. Clare was canonized in the Anagni Cathedral

Four popes were born in Anagni

Birth Pontificate Age

Innocent III 1161 - 1198-1216 (55)Gregory IX 1143 - 1227-1241 (98)Alexander IV ? - 1254-1261 ?Boniface VIII c.1235-1294-1303 (68)

Bellegra is sanctified by the lives of 52 Franciscan saints over the centuries

We visited the former palace of Pope Boniface VIII

…which is now a museum commemorating many prestigious events

…including the meeting of Pope Pius XII and the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1964

On the way to Sacro Ritero, we were amusingly detained, watching large vehicles

pass one other on the single lane road

And then it was our turn! Grateful cheers arose when it was all over without a scratch!

Gratefully, we finally arrived at Sacro Ritiro of Bellegra

We visited the convent’s museum which houses

many interesting treasures

Stones on which Francis walked

The chair in which Pope John XXIII(and André)

rested

Baby Mary’s imageFrancis’ worn tunic

Thursday, September 5 ViterboBirthplace of St. Rose

Rose’s incorrupt body is preserved inthe Cathedral of Viterbo.

Where, every year on her feast, the townspeople gather to celebrate her holy life

…as they carry her incorrupt body through the city

We celebrated our last Eucharist togetherin Rose’s little room in her family home

That afternoon we enjoyed our final wanderings through the streets of Rome

…before enjoying our last cena in Italy

....thanks to another gracious hostess

Arrivederci, Bella Italia !

André, Murray and Joanne

Tante Grazie!