Grazie agli amici di Dispenser vengo a sapere che esiste una chiesa veramente unica: la Pio Kenobi, la chiesa per il culto della forza.

In pratica si è deciso di unire le due figure, di Padre Pio e del maestro Kenobi. La Chiesa al censimento del 2001 contava ben mezzo milione di fedeli, avete letto bene: FEDELI!

Se volete saperne di più, oppure, non si sa mai, convertirvi, fatevi un giro nel loro sito piokenobi.org.

P.S. nello stesso servizio di Dispenser parlavano del culto del Mostro di Spaghetti e Polpette

<< Il cielo e la terra passeranno, ma le mie parole non passeranno >> (Lc 21,29-33)

Mi sono chiesto: in che modo le Sue parole non passeranno? Certo! Ormai i vangeli presenti in tutto il mondo!

Ma sono voluto andare (per quello che posso) un pò più a fondo . . .

Ne sono passati cieli e terre in 2000 anni dalla venuta di Cristo . . .

. . . e quante persone, quanti cristiani sono passati in 2000 anni dalla venuta di Cristo . . .

Ma le sue parole sono rimaste . . .

. . . e molti Santi cristiani (anche anonimi) sono rimasti . . .

Se incarniamo il mondo passeremo . . .

. . . se incarniamo la SUA PAROLA rimarremo . . .

Esempi?

Curato d’Ars, Beretta Molla, d. Bosco, Domenico Savio, Giuseppe Moscati, Madre Teresa di Calcutta, Giovanni Paolo II, Padre Pio . . . mamme che si donano ai figli, padri che vendono tutto e lavorano per curarli . . . e potremo continuare tranquillamente . . .

Pensavo fosse ormai una leggenda, invece è vero. Da qualche mese è cominciata una vera e propria raccolta fondi a Bagnolo in Piano (RE) per costruire una statua di Padre Pio in piazza o comunque in centro storico. Addirittura nei locali pubblici del paese sono stati attaccati volantini del Comitato che organizza la raccolta del denaro a favore di questa opera (e quel che rimane a favore di Casainsieme).

Ora, non ho assolutamente nulla in contrario alla costruzione di una statua di Padre Pio a Bagnolo, così come non ho assolutamente nulla in contrario rispetto alla raccolta fondi benefica che questa associazione porta avanti. Quello che mi preme sottolineare è che c’è un ordine di priorità e in questo momento la priorità è salvare tante famiglie di lavoratori dalla crisi.

A Bagnolo, come in tutti gli altri paesi della provincia reggiana, alcune aziende stanno soffrendo il calo dei fatturati e molti dipendenti sono finiti in cassa integrazione (vedi alcune manifestazioni della Fiom-Cgil). Le famiglie faticano ad arrivare a fine mese e il Comune ha le casse sempre più vuote. Non mi sembra il momento giusto per mobilitarsi e orientare gli sforzi sulla costruzione di un’opera non urgente nè collettivamente sentita. Piuttosto sarebbe tempo di sistemare la piazza (tra l’altro piena di buche davanti alla Chiesa).

Apro questa discussione per sentire il parere dei reggiani e degli amministratori, anche sui tempi dei lavori di sistemazione del centro storico bagnolese.

Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky

Elton John sang these lyrics with melodic conviction through our truck’s fuzzy radio reception this morning.  I was late (again) for chapel, yet when this song buzzed in I felt myself relax and begin to sing along.  (Singing when alone is about the only opportunity I get for singing nowadays [living with introverts has its challenges...]).  Since I cut teeth on KDWB AM 630 radio, I suppose I’ve heard Elton’s Daniel hundreds of times since its early 1970’s release–it runs deep in my psyche, yet I’m not sure I’ve ever actually listened to the words of this verse.  So go figure, while racing to go adore, I hear them as if for the first time. 

Although I know many Daniels (and some very cool Daniels at that),  Daniel from the Old Testament flashed before my mind’s eye.  Need some help?  Well, he is most well known for his dip in the lion’s den found in the Old Testament book of Daniel.  The story goes something like this:  Daniel refuses to bow before any king ordained gods and openly worships God instead, so he is thrown into a pit of hungry lions, lions whose mouths are closed by God.  Daniel lives, God gets the glory-oh yeah!  This is only one story, though: Daniel, time and time again throughout his life, chose unswerving trust in God and time and time again, God rescued, honored, lifted Daniel (even after years in a prison for something he didn’t do).  God gives Daniel the gifts of interpreting dreams and prophecy that prove to be invaluable for the people of his day as well as the people of our day.  He stands tall before God and, as Elton sings, he is my brother.

My brother…my brother…in Christ he is my brother…even though his “eyes have died” and he sees “more than I”, he is my brother.  Singing happily in a Mercury Mountaineer I wondered: have I been so dense all these years of struggling with earthly family issues that I’ve not seen the Family I’m part of?  Have I really never realized deeply who I’m eternally kin with?  Do I see Moses, Daniel, Ruth, Elijah, Mary, Jesus, Paul, St Patrick, Teresa of Avila, Padre Pio and Mother Teresa as my Brothers and Sisters?  Do I dare to ponder that these departed souls root me on and want nothing but the best for me just like my biological brother does?  Could it be that they check in to see how I’m doing like my brother and I do with each other?  Do they show up, stick close and pray hard when heartache visits, like many siblings do for each other?  Do they feel my pain, “the pain of scars that won’t heal”? 

Wow!  Have I been blind!  The Apostle Paul in the New Testament states over and over that followers of Jesus are Brothers and Sisters in Christ, yet I haven’t REALLY taken that in.  I need to sit with this a bit and ingest:  I have Family (not just a cloud of witnesses, like Hebrews 12 says) who, although physically dead, are real and present and trying to help me walk by faith with God.  They stand in His brilliance and undoubtedly pray for me as I try to hang with the Big Guy……………………Oh my gosh, even when I feel alone, I’m not alone, none of us are.  And with them we’re safe for they never betray, abandon, neglect or belittle…they’re life-givers, they’re fellow siblings of faith who are free of the sin nature that we on earth struggle with, yet they know all about that struggle.  They get it and “see more than I”.  They’re safe souls we can trust, they’re like Brothers and Sisters in the flesh but oh so much more, for they perpetually live in the holy Presence of God. 

It’s not just me and Jesus, it is me and a sea of supportive Siblings too.  As I reach for God, maybe they help extend my arms.  As I weep for others, maybe they weep with me.  As I stumble in faith, maybe they’re Ones who get beneath and lift until sure footing is found… 

Surely, each is a shining, holy ”star in the face of the sky” that I’m only just beginning to see…

Padre Pio

Pietrelcina
25 July 1915

My beloved daughter of Jesus,

May the Mother of Jesus and ours’ always smile upon your spirit and obtain for you from her most holy Son every heavenly charism!

I am writing to you for two reasons: to answer some of the questions from your last letter and also to wish you for your feastday great happiness in the most sweet Jesus with all the choicest heavenly graces. If only Jesus would grant my wishes for you or better still if only my wishes were worthy of being granted by Jesus. Anyway I have multiplied them a hundredfold for your consolation and salvation, praying to Jesus that He grant them not for me, but through the innermost heart of His paternal goodness and through His infinite mercy.

So as to prevent you from lack of respect and any faults in the house of God, His Church, which the divine master wishes to call the house of prayer, I exhort you in our Lord to practise the following things.

You must enter the church in silence and with great respect, bearing and considering yourself unworthy to appear before the majesty of the Lord. You must consider, among the other devout thoughts, how our soul is the temple of God and how because of this we must keep it pure and spotless before God and His angels, covering our face with blushes for the many times we have given entrance to the devil with his snares, worldly enticements and ostentations of the flesh and for having failed to keep our heart pure and our body chaste in giving entrance, as I say, to the enemy in our heart and thus profaning the temple of God, which we became through Baptism.

Then you must take some holy water and make well and slowly the sign of our Redemption.

As soon as you are before God in the Blessed Sacrament you must genuflect with devotion. Then having found a place to kneel you must offer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament your prayers and adoration. You must confide to Him all those dear to you as well as those in need, speaking to Him with filial abandonment, giving free reign to your heart and giving Him full freedom so that He my act as best as it pleases Him.

When you assist as Mass or other sacred functions, you must use much gravity when you stand, kneel and sit; and make every religious act with the greatest devotion. You must practise modesty of the eyes, not turning to look here and there to see who is coming or going; out of respect of the holy place and the person next to you you must not laugh; you must learn not to talk with anyone unless charity or a serious reason makes it necessary.

In community prayer you must pronounce the words of prayer distinctly, making the proper pauses and never hurrying.

In short, you must act in such a way that all those present are edified and drawn to glorify and love the heavenly Father through you.

In leaving the church you must remain recollected and calm: firstly bid farewell to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, asking Him to forgive you for your faults committed before His divine presence and you must not leave Him if first you have not asked and obtained from Him His paternal blessing.

Having left the church, you must act as all followers of the Nazarene should. Above all you must preserve a great modesty in everything for this is the virtue that more than any other manifests the affections of the heart. Nothing represents objects more faithfully and more clearly than mirror and in the same way nothing better represents the good and bad qualities of a soul than the degree of modesty in one’s exterior behaviour. You must be modest in speaking, modest in laughter; you must show yourself modest in your demeanour, in the way you walk; and this must all be done not out of vanity nor out of hypocrisy to appear good in the eyes of others, but through an interior modesty that directs and rules the exterior actions of the body.

Therefore you must be humble of heart, serious in your speaking, prudent in your resolutions, never talking too much, assiduous in good reading, careful in your work, modest in your discourse; abrupt with nobody, benevolent to all and respectful to your elders. Do not let an angry glance escape you; never utter a bold word, never give offense, never a careless gesture, never any loose behaviour and never an arrogant tone of voice. In short, your whole exterior must be a living image of the composure of your soul.

Keep always before your eyes as archetype and example the modesty of our divine Master, who according to the expression of the Apostle to the Corinthians, considers the modesty of Jesus Christ equal to His meekness, that was His proper and almost characteristic virtue: “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and modesty of Christ” – 2 Cor 10, 1 – and with such a perfect external model you must reform all your exterior actions so that they may be a faithful reflection of your interior affections.

Annita, never forget this divine example: keep in mind the sweet majesty  of His presence, the pleasing authority in the way Her speaks, His agreeable demeanour, His way of looking, speaking and conversing; the sweet serenity of His face; imagine His calm gentle gaze that drew the crowds, taking them our of the cities and castles, leading them to the mountains, to the forests, to solitude, to the deserted shores of the sea, so that they forgot about eating, drinking and their domestic tasks.

Let us copy in us, as far as possible, these modest and dignified actions and let us try as best we can to be similar to Him in time so that we may be more perfect and more similar to Him for all eternity in the heavenly Jerusalem.

I end here, unable to continue, and ask you never to forget me before Jesus, especially in these days of extreme affliction for me; and I await the same charity from the very good Francesca who you must tell of my strong desire to see her always grow in the fire of divine charity. I would very much like you to make a novena of Communions for my intentions.

Do not worry if you are unable to answer my letters for the moment, I understand so do not worry.

I bid farewell and embrace you in our Lord, remaining always His servant.

Fra Pio, Capuchin

(from Padre Pio to Annita, his spiritual daughter)

Bulletin for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, 15 November 2009

Una meravigliosa foto di una vetrata di chiesa raffigurante Padre Pio
un grazie di cuore all’artista:

Colgo l’occasione per segnalare una pagina nella rete che ben descrive l’intento e le radici che contraddistinguono l’armata Bianca: Armata Bianca Movimento ecclesiale.

“I bambini salveranno il mondo”

Padre Pio da Pietrelcina

foto di: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34409164@N06/3667223612/

Persino la chiesa è piena di diavolerie, ormai.

La tecnologia è promossa all’onore degli altari, o almeno ci è arrivata molto vicino. Mai consultato un catalogo per cose di chiesa? Proviamo a sfogliarlo cominciando dal banale: i candelieri. C’era la cera, una volta; oggi ci sono i “candelieri elettrici ed elettronici, accensione a pulsante, spegnimento con timer regolabile da 7 minuti a 2 ore. Bassa tensione, basso consumo, prezzo speciale”. Del resto, la cera sporca e poi costa: Sant’Antonio capirà, se gli accendiamo davanti una lampadina anzichè il sorpassato lumino. In certi battesimi ormai è falsa persino la veste candida: anziché un vero camicino, si usano ritagli di stoffa inamidata che non si possono nemmeno indossare. Siamo al simbolo del simbolo, insomma: chissà, presto ci daranno una fotografia invece dell’acquasanta …

Un vero concentrato di tecnologia sono i confessionali. Ora si trovano in commercio certi modelli strepitosi, dotati di “climatizzatore automatico con telecomando”, pareti fonoassorbenti per l’insonorizzazione, inginocchiatoio anatomico (ma la confessione non si chiama anche penitenza?), pulsantiera dei comandi nonché, udite, udite, la grata con filtro igienico incorporato: per non farsi contaminare dai peccati, ooops! Forse dall’alito, dei fedeli. Con un abitacolo tanto confortevole, resta solo da chiedersi perché i confessori non si trovino mai e i penitenti non si confessino tre volte al giorno.

Ma un gadget di crescente successo è il radiomicrofonino: l’aggeggio ad antenna che permette ai preti di muoversi qual e là sull’altare durante la predica senza  inciampare continuamente in quei maledetti fili. E’ comodissimo e fa tanto talk show; anzi, suggeriamo ai produttori liturgici il modello color carne da appendere direttamente all’orecchio, come si vede in TV. Esiste già, invece, il “processoniere”: in sostanza, il pronipote dei vecchi megafoni a tromba, posti sul tetto di un’automobile e usati per recitare le litanie durante le processioni – questo “amplificatore radioconnesso” invece si porta ritto come un candelabro e funziona a batteria. C’è da scommettere che, con un aggeggio del genere, non sarà più un problema farsi sentire nemmeno dai mitici “lontani”. Eh si, il terzo millennio ha davvero introdotto meraviglie nella Chiesa! C’è anche, per esempio, l’ambone col cruscotto: un orologio-sveglia che indica discretamente se ci si dilunga nella predica. Ci sono le lampade votive a celle solari, c’è il rosario elettronico modello videogioco. Inoltre, è in vendita la cassetta per le offerte blindata, mentre in molti santuari funziona già il distributore automatico di immaginette plastificate (il cosiddetto santino a gettone).

Con gadget così, sfidiamo chiunque a sostenere che la Chiesa non si dà da fare per stare al passo coi tempi!

Ma l’oggetto che m’intriga di più è il turibolo ad accensione elettronica: “l’incenso brucia al semplice tocco di un pulsante e niente più ‘odore’ d’incenso”, esalta la pubblicità sulla stampa ecclesiastica. Basta carboncini sporchevoli che fanno le bizze, non più fiammiferi dunque – è sufficiente cambiare la pila ogni tanto.

Non ho trovato l’aspersorio col turbo.

Si è stimata una folla di 30 mila persone a dare l’ultimo saluto a Natuzza Evolo, la mistica con le stigmate come Padre Pio, morta domenica scorsa, a Paravati nel Vibonese. Il vescovo di Mileto, Monsignor Luigi Renzo ha detto: “Natuzza è già santa perché è in Paradiso”, confermando le voci di chi la vorrebbe già santa. La messa è stata celebrata davanti alla sede della fondazione Cuore Immacolato di Maria, struttura voluta da Natuzza Evolo.

“Mi avete chiesto se Natuzza sarà Santa subito. Ebbene il vostro lungo applauso all’arrivo del feretro è una prima risposta. Lei è già santa perché è in Paradiso. L’istruttoria per il processo di beatificazione è un problema solamente nostro che seguiremo secondo le procedure e senza fretta. E poi più volte mi avete chiesto la posizione della chiesa rispetto alla figura di Natuzza. Ebbene a quest’ultima domanda si può rispondere con la presenza della delegazione dei vescovi calabresi che sta partecipando a questo funerale” ha detto il vescovo Luigi Renzo. Alla messa funebre erano presenti molti esponenti militari dell’Arma Dei Carabinieri, della Guardia Di Finanza, e Polizia Di Stato, tutti vestiti in Alta Uniforme. “Tante volte Natuzza ha accolto molti di noi, oggi siamo stati noi ad accoglierla con un applauso” dice il vescovo di Mileto all’arrivo del feretro di Natuzza, “facciamo festa, perchè Natuzza ora e tra i santi del paradiso”.

BIOGRAFIA (fonte http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natuzza_Evolo )

Nacque a Paravati, una frazione del comune di Mileto, antica città della Calabria, dove Ruggero il normanno aveva stabilito la capitale della sua contea e la prima diocesi di rito latino dell’Italia meridionale. Il padre, Fortunato, qualche mese prima che lei nascesse, nella speranza di poter aiutare la famiglia, era emigrato in Argentina, da dove non tornò mai più. La madre, Maria Angela Valente, rimasta sola con una numerosa famiglia da accudire, si adattò ai lavori più umili per sfamare la famiglia. Natuzza (un diminutivo di Fortunata molto diffuso in Calabria) cercò di aiutarla accudendo gli altri fratelli, non potendo frequentare regolarmente la scuola e restando quindi con un livello di istruzione molto limitato, quasi analfabeta. Sposata con un falegname e avendo cinque figli, ha avuto una vita caratterizzata sin dall’infanzia da episodi paranormali, quali presunte apparizioni e colloqui con Gesù Cristo, la Madonna, angeli, santi e defunti, la comparsa di stimmate ed effusioni ematiche accompagnate da stati di sofferenza durante il periodo pasquale, momenti di estasi; testimonianze le attribuiscono anche il “dono dell’illuminazione diagnostica“. Per decine di anni ha ricevuto presso la sua abitazione migliaia di persone provenienti da tutto il mondo per incontrarla, principalmente nella speranza di avere notizie dall’aldilà dai propri defunti o indicazioni sulle proprie malattie. Moltissimi hanno testimoniato di aver ricevuto grazie e benefici dopo la visita alla sua persona. Su sua ispirazione si è costituita nel 1987 un’associazione (poi diventata fondazione, presso cui Natuzza ha trascorso il resto della sua vita) con l’obiettivo di creare a Paravati un complesso che inglobi un santuario mariano, strutture per l’assistenza medica e centri per giovani, anziani, disabili, tra cui, già realizzati, il centro anziani “Pasquale Colloca” e quello per i servizi alla persona “San Francesco di Paola”^[. Ispirati da Natuzza e dalla sua testimonianza di fede sono sorti inoltre dal 1994 dei “Cenacoli di preghiera” e diffusi sul territorio nazionale e all’estero. Muore alle 5 di mattina del 1 novembre 2009, nel centro per anziani che lei stessa aveva fondato grazie alle offerte dei fedeli, a causa di un blocco renale.

GerryItalia25

Di Elio Ardifuoco

Era un pomeriggio piovoso. Mi ero recato ad Altomonte per una visita alla vecchia casa disabitata della mia bis-nonna. Nella soffitta una scatola polverosa. All’interno in un ordine quasi ossessivo una quantità indescrivibile di lettere disposte in colonne. Era l’inizio del mio viaggio alla scoperta delle mie radici. Solo dopo scoprii che si trattava delle lettere inviate dal Canada dal mio bis-nonno (padre di mia nonna) Roberto Pancaro alla sua amata e moglie. Lettere d’amore, lettere di speranza ,di coraggio e di una forza interiore di altri tempi. Ma anche lettere, a volte, di un pragmatismo che lascia disarmati. Sullo sfondo la guerra e il fascismo. La crisi italiana e il sogno americano. Il dollaro forte e la lira debole. Tutti ingredienti che mi hanno portato a volerne sapere di più su una parte delle mie radici.

Ma oggi la figura che vorrei che tutti conosceste è quella di Luigi Pancaro fratello del mio bis nonno Roberto con cui ha condiviso lunga parte della sua vita per essere vissuti, per un periodo, nella stessa casa in Canada e successivamente vicini. Io di questo rapporto conosco, attraverso quelle lettere, il lato privato-intimo. Con l’articolo tratto dal Quotidiano della Domenica voglio farvi conoscere la grandezza di Luigi Pancaro. Un calabrese, nato ad Altomonte, certo di famiglia nobile, ma che per affermarsi ha dovuto combattere contro le difficoltà e le avversità della guerra e lontano dalla terra d’origine.

Elio Ardifuoco

Cliccare sull’articolo seguente per ingrandirlo

Cliccare sull’articolo seguente per ingrandirlo

The following is from the weekly column of Fr. George Rutler, pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in New York City:

The expression "a living saint" can be misleading. Certainly, we have encountered people in our own lives who fit that description, as best as we can judge. The Holy Church makes the final decision about saints. We celebrate them especially on All Saints’ Day, and on All Souls’ Day, we pray for our loved ones who are drawing more closely into the aura of holiness. The saints on the calendar are only the tip of the iceberg, and most of the saints who have ever existed are known to God alone. Perhaps churches should have a shrine to "The Unknown Saint" quite as we have a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All Saints’ Day is rather like that.

My point, though, is that there is no such thing as a dead saint. There are saints alive now, and there are saints who have physically died, but all are alive in Christ and they are "busy" in heaven, to use a temporal metaphor. Some saints capture the popular imagination more in one generation than in another. For instance, St. Simon Stylites was admired in Syria in the fifth century for spending most of his life seated on top of a pillar. That is not a useful model for our day, although some may still remember Flagpole Kelly, and not long ago thousands of New Yorkers went to watch a man spend a week on top of a column up the street in Bryant Park.

Millions are drawn to Padre Pio, and some are compelled by an unmeasured fascination with his miraculous spiritual gifts, which were blessings indeed, rather than emulating his heroic humility and discipline. There remains an astonishing cult of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She was almost the reverse of St. Pio: totally unknown in her earthly lifetime, and accomplishing nothing conspicuous to her contemporaries. She would have remained such had not her spiritual writings been discovered and published. Perhaps she fascinates precisely because in just barely 24 years on earth, she did the most ordinary things with most extraordinary joy. Whenever her relics are taken on pilgrimage to foreign lands (not to mention the one that was taken on a space shuttle), hundreds of thousands pour out to pray by them. This happened most recently in England, where the media were confounded by the huge crowds.

Concurrent with that phenomenon, there were astonishing developments in long-moribund Christian life there, not least of which was the announcement of the first papal state visit to Britain and the expected beatification of John Henry Newman, who predicted a "Second Spring" of Faith in England. Then came news of an Apostolic Constitution, which will provide a unique canonical structure to welcome those desiring union with the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI, who well deserves the title "The Pope of Unity," has shown the power of the intercessions of the saints.

Cliccare sulla fotografia.

Padre Pio : “Sono risorto e pronto a vincere”
La Ferrari pronta a tesserare il campione santo

Vorremmo ricordare a tutti il nostro scoop pubblicato la scorsa settimana (“Zarate party : Coca e trans“), che ha fatto avviare l’inchiesta del “caso Marrazzo”.

Condividi su Facebook

From the Word of the Day

Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?  By no means!  But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!

(Luke 13: 2-3)    

 How should we live this Word

 Some people told Jesus about the recent violent interventions of Pilate.  They believed that a violent death was punishment for sin.  Jesus helps them understand that we are all sinners and in urgent need of conversion.  “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”  In fact, evil resides neither in suffering or death but in those who abuse their own freedom.  Humans are responsible for sin and therefore of the evil that exists in the world.  Even tremendous natural catastrophes find a weighty cause in sin because nature clearly and mysteriously suffers the consequences.

 Jesus invites us to read the events of life at a deeper level, within God’s saving plan.  Thus we can discover our guilt on a different scale and remove the masks of our personal abuse of freedom in order to be converted in profundity.  Conversion demands a change of mentality and a purification of the heart that gradually lead to communion in intimate life with the Lord and with everyone.  The passage concludes with a parable that makes us see God’s compassion and readiness to provide the opportunity for repentance. 

 Today as I pause for silent contemplation, I will enter into my heart to examine how I manage my freedom.  Convert my heart, O Lord!

 Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your patience with me.  I will do my best to bring forth fruits of authenticity, justice, and peace in the future.

 The voice of St. Padre Pio               

 Live calmly with your spirit because you have nothing to fear.  Jesus permits spiritual struggle, not as a punishment but as purification.  The trial is not to the death but to health.

Pilgrimage to Italy and France

(Package tour BBQD00515)

Day 1 – Saturday 15 May – Rome, Italy

After arrival check into your hotel. At 6 pm, meet your tour director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 2 – Sunday 16^th of May – Rome

Attend the weekly general audience of the pope (subject to availability).  This afternoon, visit St Paul Outside the walls and the catacombs.  During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Next, visit St John Lateran Basilica and the Holy Stairs, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around 326 AD by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consists of 28 white marble steps. As a favourite of pilgrims everywhere, these steps may only be ascended on the knees, then, visit the impressive St Mary Major Basilica. (B)

Day 3 – Monday 17^th of May – Rome

This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and the Last Judgment. Continue to monumental St Peter’s Square and Basilica. Cross the Tiber River and visit the Colosseum, one of the New 7 wonders of the world, and the Roman Forum where Roman legions marched in triumph (B)

Day 4 – Tuesday 18^th of May – Rome – Mugnano Del Cardinale – Naples

Visit the Abbey of Montecassino, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St Benedict around 529 Ad, and its museum. Then, continue south to the small town of Mugnano Del Cardinale to visit the sanctuary of Saint Philomena. Spend time here before spending your night in Italy’s most colourful city, Naples. (B)

Day 5 – Wed 19^th of May – Naples – San Giovanni Rotondo.

Journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St Padre Pio.  Enjoy time at leisure this afternoon.  (B, D)

Day 6 – Thursday 20^th of May – San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant’Angelo

Visit the Friary of Padro Pio, including his tomb, cell, confessional and the old church where he received the stigmata. Also visit the new church. Afterwards, visit the nearby shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St Michael the Archangel appeared in 490 AD, 492 AD and 1656 (B, D)

Day 7 – Friday, May 21 – San Giovanni Rotondo – Lanciano – Cascia – Assisi

Visit Lanciano and the church that is home to an 8^th Century Eucharistic Miracle. Afterwards, visit the Basilica of St Rita of Cascia. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St Francis and St Clare. (B, D)

Day 8 – Sunday, May 23 – Assisi – Siena – Florence

Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the Basilicas of St Francis and St Clare. See the crucifix that spoke to St Francis.  Also visit the St Mary of the Angels Basilica and the  Portiuncula. On the way to Florence, stop in Siena and visit the Sanctuary of St Catherine and the Basilica of St Dominic.  (B,D)

Day 9 – Sunday, May 23 – Florence

Your walking tour with a local guide features a visit to the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michelangelo’s David, the Cathedral and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 10 – Monday, May 24 – Florence – Padua – Venice

Depart for Padua and visit the Basilica of St Anthony to see the tomb and reliquaries of this miracle-working saint and patron of lost and stolen articles. Journey on to Venice, one of the world’s most romantic cities. Enter by private boat and meet your local guide. Visit St Mark’s Square and its Basilica and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)

Day 11 – Tuesday, May 25 – Venice – Turin

First to nearby Vicenza for the included sightseeing which will take in the main highlights and inside visit of the famous Teatro Olimpico. Then continue on to Turin, home of the Shroud of Turin. (B)

Day 12 – Wednesday, May 26 – Turin – Lyon, France

Spend the morning visiting the Turin Cathedral where the Shroud of Turin is housed and can be viewed. Then cross the border and enter France. Spend the night in Lyon a UNESCO world heritage site. (B)

Day 13 – Thursday, May 28 – Lyon – Nevers

Continue your journey to Paray-le-Monial, home of the chapel of the apparitions and where Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque. Also, visit the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Arrive in Nevers. (B, D)

Day 14 – Friday, May 28 – Nevers – Avignon

Visit St Gildard in Nevers, where St Bernadette spent her life as a nun. See the beautiful incorrupt body of St Bernadette. Retrace your journey south and visit the St John Vianney Shrine. See the saint’s incorrupt body, walk through his home, and explore the church, where he preached and heard Confessions. Continue around Lyon and arrive in Avignon for overnight. (B)

Day 15 – Saturday, May 29 – Avignon – Carcassone – Lourdes

Enjoy a walk through this pretty town where the papacy resided in the 14^th century. Head to Carcassonne, a medieval town and UNESCO world heritage site. Finish your day in Lourdes, one of the world’s most famous places of pilgrimage. Visit the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St Bernadette in 1858 (B, D)

Day 16 – Sunday, May 30 – Lourdes

Your walking tour with a local guide includes visits to Our Lady of Lourdes shrine and St Bernadette’s birthplace and family home. You may wish to bathe in the healing waters or attend the ‘Blessing of the Sick.’ Also, you may wish to join this evening’s Rosary and candlelight procession. (B)

Day 17 – Monday, May 31 – Lourdes – Bordeaux

Skirt the sandy dunes and swamps of the Landes region in Gascony on the way to Bordeaux. An orientation tour on arrival acquaints you with this historic port. (B)

Day 18 – Tuesday, June 1 – Bordeaux – Paris

Travel through the Grand Champagne wine growing area, north through Saintes. Take the comfortable Autoroute L’Aquitaine for a short stop in Tours. Pass the castles of Amboise and Chaumont for an afternoon arrival in Paris. (B)

Day 19 – Wednesday, June 2 – Paris

One full day to explore the city that’s known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides and the Champs Elysees. Optional excursions are also available. Celebrate the success of your tour with an optional French farewell dinner. (B)

Day 20 – Thursday, June 3 – Paris

Your tour ends this morning after breakfast with a group transfer to the airport for your homebound flight. (B)

Pilgrimage to Italy and France with London Extension.

(BBOD00515)

Day 1 – Saturday 15 May – Rome, Italy

After arrival check into your hotel. At 6 pm, meet your tour director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 2 – Sunday 16^th of May – Rome

Attend the weekly general audience of the pope (subject to availability).  This afternoon, visit St Paul Outside the walls and the catacombs.  During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Next, visit St John Lateran Basilica and the Holy Stairs, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around 326 AD by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consists of 28 white marble steps. As a favourite of pilgrims everywhere, these steps may only be ascended on the knees, then, visit the impressive St Mary Major Basilica. (B)

Day 3 – Monday 17^th of May – Rome

This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and the Last Judgment. Continue to monumental St Peter’s Square and Basilica. Cross the Tiber River and visit the Colosseum, one of the New 7 wonders of the world, and the Roman Forum where Roman legions marched in triumph (B)

Day 4 – Tuesday 18^th of May – Rome – Mugnano Del Cardinale – Naples

Visit the Abbey of Montecassino, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St Benedict around 529 Ad, and its museum. Then, continue south to the small town of Mugnano Del Cardinale to visit the sanctuary of Saint Philomena. Spend time here before spending your night in Italy’s most colourful city, Naples. (B)

Day 5 – Wed 19^th of May – Naples – San Giovanni Rotondo.

Journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St Padre Pio.  Enjoy time at leisure this afternoon.  (B, D)

Day 6 – Thursday 20^th of May – San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant’Angelo

Visit the Friary of Padro Pio, including his tomb, cell, confessional and the old church where he received the stigmata. Also visit the new church. Afterwards, visit the nearby shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St Michael the Archangel appeared in 490 AD, 492 AD and 1656 (B, D)

Day 7 – Friday, May 21 – San Giovanni Rotondo – Lanciano – Cascia – Assisi

Visit Lanciano and the church that is home to an 8^th Century Eucharistic Miracle. Afterwards, visit the Basilica of St Rita of Cascia. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St Francis and St Clare. (B, D)

Day 8 – Sunday, May 23 – Assisi – Siena – Florence

Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the Basilicas of St Francis and St Clare. See the crucifix that spoke to St Francis.  Also visit the St Mary of the Angels Basilica and the Portiuncula. On the way to Florence, stop in Siena and visit the Sanctuary of St Catherine and the Basilica of St Dominic.  (B, D)

Day 9 – Sunday, May 23 – Florence

Your walking tour with a local guide features a visit to the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michelangelo’s David, the Cathedral and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 10 – Monday, May 24 – Florence – Padua – Venice

Depart for Padua and visit the Basilica of St Anthony to see the tomb and reliquaries of this miracle-working saint and patron of lost and stolen articles. Journey on to Venice, one of the world’s most romantic cities. Enter by private boat and meet your local guide. Visit St Mark’s Square and its Basilica and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)

Day 11 – Tuesday, May 25 – Venice – Turin

First to nearby Vicenza for the included sightseeing which will take in the main highlights and inside visit of the famous Teatro Olimpico. Then continue on to Turin, home of the Shroud of Turin. (B)

Day 12 – Wednesday, May 26 – Turin – Lyon, France

Spend the morning visiting the Turin Cathedral where the Shroud of Turin is housed and can be viewed. Then cross the border and enter France. Spend the night in Lyon a UNESCO world heritage site. (B)

Day 13 – Thursday, May 28 – Lyon – Nevers

Continue your journey to Paray-le-Monial, home of the chapel of the apparitions and where Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque. Also, visit the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Arrive in Nevers. (B, D)

Day 14 – Friday, May 28 – Nevers – Avignon

Visit St Gildard in Nevers, where St Bernadette spent her life as a nun. See the beautiful incorrupt body of St Bernadette. Retrace your journey south and visit the St John Vianney Shrine. See the saint’s incorrupt body, walk through his home, and explore the church, where he preached and heard Confessions. Continue around Lyon and arrive in Avignon for overnight. (B)

Day 15 – Saturday, May 29 – Avignon – Carcassone – Lourdes

Enjoy a walk through this pretty town where the papacy resided in the 14^th century. Head to Carcassonne, a medieval town and UNESCO world heritage site. Finish your day in Lourdes, one of the world’s most famous places of pilgrimage. Visit the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St Bernadette in 1858 (B, D)

Day 16 – Sunday, May 30 – Lourdes

Your walking tour with a local guide includes visits to Our Lady of Lourdes shrine and St Bernadette’s birthplace and family home. You may wish to bathe in the healing waters or attend the ‘Blessing of the Sick.’ Also, you may wish to join this evening’s Rosary and candlelight procession. (B)

Day 17 – Monday, May 31 – Lourdes – Bordeaux

Skirt the sandy dunes and swamps of the Landes region in Gascony on the way to Bordeaux. An orientation tour on arrival acquaints you with this historic port. (B)

Day 18 – Tuesday, June 1 – Bordeaux – Paris

Travel through the Grand Champagne wine growing area, north through Saintes. Take the comfortable Autoroute L’Aquitaine for a short stop in Tours. Pass the castles of Amboise and Chaumont for an afternoon arrival in Paris. (B)

Day 19 – Wednesday, June 2 – Paris

One full day to explore the city that’s known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides and the Champs Elysees. Optional excursions are also available. Celebrate the success of your tour with an optional French farewell dinner. (B)

Day 20 – Thursday, June 3, Paris – London

Drive through the French countryside by way of the fast autoroute to Calaise. Board your ferry for the UK and travel through the lush English countryside to London for the next two nights. (B)

Day 21 – Friday, June 4 – London

Morning sightseeing with a local guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the houses of parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  The morning’s highlights are a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held.  The afternoon  is free for you to sightsee on your own or join an optional excursion to the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight, we recommend our optional Taste of London excursion with dinner followed by a guided illuminations cruise on the River Thames. (B)

Day 22 – Saturday, June 5 – London

Your tour ends this morning after breakfast with a group transfer to the airport for your homebound fight. (B)

The prices of these two pilgrimages will reduce a fair bit, if there are thirty or more people.

For full details including pricing:

Contact: Felicity Tunhavasana (group organiser)

Mobile phone number 0412 437335

Email:    felicitastunhavasana@yahoo.com.au