Retreat in Assisi

wThis past week was our retreat in Assisi.  Our excellent retreat director was an Irish Dominican who has given the retreat for a number of years.  Thought provoking and affirming at the same time.  We stayed at the Casa Papa Giovanni a  religious guest house.  The food was great and the facility simple but very serviceable.  It was also well located which was nice.  Because I have been to Assisi many times I spent my time reading, reflecting, relaxing and praying rather than checking out the town.  It was a good plan for me and I know that many of the guys enjoyed the opportunity to explore Assisi over a whole week rather than just a couple of days.

Each morning we celebrated Mass in one of the churches connected to St. Francis and St. Clare.  All were within easy walking distance and the brisk morning air was nice to walk in.

On Monday we went to the Basilica of St. Francis and had Mass at the tomb.  That is always a special experience.  We then had a tour of the Basilica and the town.


That's the tomb of St. Francis behind me.

Tuesday we went to the Church of Santa Chiara.  We celebrated Mass in the chapel which contains the cross that spoke to St. Francis.  They do not allow pictures in the chapel so here are a couple I found on the internet.

The cross that spoke to St. Francis


The main nave of the Church of S. Chiara

Tuesday we went to the Chiesa Nuova which is on the property where St. Francis grew up.  It contains the cave where Francis' father imprisoned him to try to get him to forget about his commitment to Christ.


On Thursday we went to the Cathedral of St. Rufino.  It is located next to the house in which St. Clare grew up and contains the baptismal font in which both of them were baptized (which I believe was actually in another church.  The original Cathedral is the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (not the one in Rome!) which is where Francis stripped himself and returned his clothes to his father.


Baptismal Font


The Cathedral Nave


The Chapel where we celebrated Mass


A little shrine at the home of S. Clare.

Friday was our last day of retreat and we left the guest house and had Mass at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels which is built on the spot where Francis actually lived with his community and where he died.  It is called the Porziuncula or the Little Portion.  The larger church contains the small chapel which was part of that early community and also contains the chapel built on the spot where he died.  We actually celebrated in the Clare Chapel which was smaller and quieter.  We then had a tour of the Basilica.

The Clare Chapel


The Porziuncula

A wonderful week and a great way to bring our time here to a relative close.

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