Again, I have to apologize for not posting as frequently. I’ve reached that point in the semester when everything happens to be due. A lot has happened in the past few weeks that has kept me busy. Similar to an earlier post, I will be posting 2 or maybe even 3 separate blogs to share about everything that has happened. This first blog will be Easter and Assisi and the second blog will be my week with my best friend and the Amalfi coast. And the third blog, when I can get around to it, will be about my trip to Ireland.
There’s no better place to start when talking about Easter than holy week. For Holy Thursday Mass, I went to the Church of Santa Susanna, the American community in Rome. The church was packed, as I thought it would be, and I was sitting in the very back. When it came time for the washing of the feet, I was one of only a small handful of people who was brave enough to get up and have my feet washed. This was one of those times when I felt every pair of eyes on me, which was a little unnerving, but I’m glad I did it.
Good Friday, I watched the Passion of the Christ to get me in the mindset of this solemn day. Good Friday evening, my friend, Taylor, and I went to the Colloseum around 6:30 to claim our spots, even though Via Crucis didn’t start until 9 pm. We sat on a ledge between the Arch of Constantine and the Colloseum and had a really good view of the stage where Pope Francis will be. The crowd grew larger and larger as it got closer to 9:00.
The crowd at about 7 or 7:30
The crowd just before 9:00
Papa Franceso arrived a little after 9:00 straight from Good Friday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. He opened us up in prayer, then we read through the fourteen Stations of the Cross. As the Stations were being said, the Pope looked like he may have dosed off because his head was bent over, or maybe he was praying (I couldn’t tell from where I was sitting 🙂 ). The Stations of the Cross finished with a short homily from the Holy Father at around 10:30 and then Taylor and I began our journey through the crowd to the tram to go back to our apartments.
Easter Sunday was another sunny day at the Vatican. Two of my friends and I arrived at the Vatican a little before 7:00 am to make sure we got good seats. More friends of ours arrived after us and joined us in line. As we were waiting to get through security, I heard a group of ladies in front of me talking with a familiar accent. I ended up talking to them for a bit and they said that they were from Dublin and Belfast. I got excited because of my upcoming trip to Ireland. Once through security, my two friends and I managed to get seats in the same area that Taylor and I were in for Palm Sunday.
After a beautiful Mass, Papa Francesco went around St. Peter’s in his popemobile to see everyone before he gives his Ubi et Orbi speech. This speech is only given twice a year, Christmas and Easter, and I was excited that I was able to hear one of them.
The Ubi et Orbi speech was given from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. The same place where the world saw Papa Francesco for the first time.
After Mass, my friends and I managed to make our way through the crowds out of the Square. One of my friends went to meet her roommate and my other friend and I went to a family run restaurant near the Vatican Museums for a wonderful lunch.
The week following Easter was pretty busy at school, but I had an exciting trip to look foreward to with the upcoming weekend. I went with a group from AUR to Assisi for a day trip. Out of all of the trips I took in Italy, Assisi was my favorite, and not just because of Papa Francesco. Assisi was one place I wanted to visit during the semester. The older part of the town was on a mountain and it was a medieval style town.
Part of the old town Assisi
We went on a guided tour through the town and one of the first places we were taken to was the Basilica of St. Clare. Our tour guide told us that there was an order of Poor Clares that lived here, but since they are a strictly closed order, not many people get to see them. The outside of the Basilica was white and pink because of the marble that was used to build it and I thought it was really cool to see marble that was pink. Inside, we were able to see the actual crucifix that is said to have spoken to St. Francis. We were also able to see the tomb of St. Clare. As our tour guide was telling us where to go to see the tomb of St. Clare, I remembered that St. Clare is an uncorruptable Saint, but since her body was moved into a glass coffin, her body started to deteriorate and a wax covering was put over her body. Before I made my way down to see the tomb of St. Clare, our tour guide said that there was a Poor Clare sitting at a desk kind of monitoring the main part of the Basilica. I made my way over to the desk to get a prayer card and the Poor Clare told me and a friend of mine that she made small rosaries that she would give us if we would donate 3 euros to the Poor Clares. I got one, of course, because how many peope can say that they have a rosary that was made by a Poor Clare? It was really cool to actually see St. Clare.
The Basilica of St. Clare. Notice the different colored marble.
After the Basilica of St. Clare, we slowly made our way down the main street to the Basilica of St. Francis. There is apparently 2 basilicas, an Upper and a Lower Basilica. We started in the Upper Basilica where we were able to still see the very colorful original frescos on the walls and ceiling. Our tour guide was telling us about some of the frescoes, but I didn’t pay much attention because I was supper excited that in a short while I will see the tomb of St. Francis himself. The tour guide also showed us where part of the ceiling fell down on top of the main alter during a major earthquake. The ceiling was fixed, but the frescoes were lost.
The Basilica of St. Francis
We then moved to the Lower Basilica where we saw some more absolutely amazing frescoes. It was at this point where our tour guide told us where to go to get to the tomb of St. Francis. She also told us that for a small donation, we could get a candle that we could put in a basket near the tomb that the Franciscans will use to light the alter throughout the year. I made my way down to St. Francis’ tomb and it was the most moving part of the day. His coffin is in a wall and I could just see the top of it because it’s in a high part of the wall. I stayed there praying for a bit before rejoining my tour group. Our tour finished shortly after this and we had about 2 or 3 hours of free time to wonder around the town before we had to return to the bus. A friend of mine and I went to a place called Otello (no relation to Shakespeare) for a delicious lunch, then we wondered into different souvenier shops and bakeries. When we got back to the bus, I felt sad to leave Assisi because I fell in love with it during the short amount of time I spent there.
So, this brings us to the end of part 1. Part 2 will hopefully come soon, even though this week is my last week of classes and everything happens to be due. But I will do my best to put some more of my adventures up soon.
romanholiday16 