Day 1: Arrive in Roma - Off to Assisi

Today, 28 pilgrims arrived in Roma from all over the United States. Though the flight was long, bodies were tired, and many longed for a hot shower, the women of WINE rallied and immediately hopped on a bus to Assisi...well, after a cappuccino that is.

The bus ride began with a beautiful prayer thanking God for bringing us all together "for such a time as this" and asking for His Spirit to descend upon us as we go forth these next 8 days on a journey to grow closer to our Lord. 

We had a beautiful day in Assisi. Exhausted but exhilarated, we walked in the footsteps of St. Clare and St. Francis. As always happens, there are frozen moments of unexpected, but beautiful graces. In our case, we were blessed to witness the wedding of a lovely couple from Australia, and all of Assisi gathered around Andy and Margarita to celebrate their wedding day. Many of the pilgrims, first-timers to Italy—as tired as they were—could not help but express how much beauty the country had to offer.

Our day ended with a lovely dinner, and another one of those impromptu frozen blessings, as two of our pilgrims from Oklahoma wondered off exploring and found an unbelievable upper deck on the hotel were we all gathered, watched the sunset and began singing, giving glory to God!

Check out our pictures from the day here -> WINE & Shrine Day 1

May 20: Benedizioni! (Blessings!)

Click on picture above to watch video on St. Clare

At 18, she escaped one night from her father’s home, was met on the road by friars carrying torches, and in the poor little chapel called the Portiuncula received a rough woolen habit, exchanged her jeweled belt for a common rope with knots in it, and sacrificed the long beautiful hair to rugged scissors. She was placed in a Benedictine convent, which her father and uncles immediately stormed in rage. She clung to the altar of the church, threw aside her veil to show her cropped hair and remained adamant. Thus began the religious life for St. Clare.

PRACTICAL TIP: It's always good to learn a few words in Italian. So below are some key phrases/words. And if you really want to fit in and look like you belong, you may want to learn how to talk with your hands— Italians are quite famous for being effusive talkers that use hand gestures to underline most statements. It appears to be something engrained in them at birth. In fact, click on the image below to see some rare footage of our very own Teresa Tomeo (when she was a child) having a chat with her nonna (grandma).

Ok, maybe it's not really Teresa... but it certainly represents her well!

Today, pray to St. Clare. Ask her to open your heart to all the graces God has planned to shower you with at the Basilica of St. Clare.

Looking forward to journeying with you!

Kelly & Teresa

May 18: Ecco Roma! (Behold Rome!)

 

After landing in Rome on June 18, we'll take a lovely scenic tour to the Italian region of Umbria to the charming town of Assisi; famous of course for its association with Saints Francis and Clare. 

This town is home to windy little streets, ancient buildings and the Santa Maria degli Angeli (Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels), which is one of the largest Christian sanctuaries in the world, and a stop along our way. 

One of the blessings of our WINE & Shrine pilgrimage is that our good friend Joan Lewis will be joining us! Joan is a wealth of knowledge about all things Italian. So let's take advantage of her wisdom! Here's a quick little video from Joan talking about where we'll be a month from today!

Click on the image below and enjoy Joan's Rome, Assisi-style!

Today, pray to St. Clare and St. Francis and ask them to help us prepare in this, often crazy and hectic month of May, to experience the Peace of Christ anew when we are in Assisi next month.

Looking forward to journeying with you!