My Italian Experience

[Julie de Sales]

I just come back home from a one month scholarship in Italy. I had not only the chance to learn Italian, but also to visit some places who speak to me from a religious point of view. First of all, I went to Assisi, I prayed at Portiuncula, on the tomb of St Francis and St Clare, and it was very touching! The part I liked the most was at the tomb of St Clare, I asked her to help me in my vocation and to cast away everything that was holding me back on my path towards God. I finished the trip at St Damiano and I set my eyes on the place St Clare died…

On another weekend I got the chance to see Rome, the “Eternal City”, on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. I assisted at the Pontifical Mass from the St Peter’s Square, because I didn’t have the ticket to enter in the Basilica, but I prayer a lot for the new priests the Pope ordained. I saw him with my own eyes on the balcony during the Angelus (Regina Coeli) and I listened with extreme joy his words on following Christ more closely.

I also had the opportunity to visit Citta di Castello, a village where I know some Poor Clare sisters who made a foundation in my country. There is also a monastery of the Poor Clares of the Immaculate, who are close to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, but I couldn’t visit the church or talk to the sisters, because it was Sunday and everything was closed.

However, I thank God for everything he gave me this past month, and I hope he will show me his will more and more each day.

I just wanted to share my joy and let you know that I also prayed for you and for all the people that are seeking their vocation.

[Kateri89]

I have a bit of holy envy right now ;) I would love to visit St. Damiano and Portiuncula.

[Immanuel]

yes, so do I. It is my dream to get to those places someday :heart:

[Chiquitunga]

I also had the opportunity to visit Citta di Castello, a village where I know some Poor Clare sisters who made a foundation in my country. 

 

Was it the Poor Clare Capuchins who made a foundation in your country? http://www.santaveronicagiuliani.it/ (that site is not working for me now, but it was just a few days ago) How wonderful!! Did you get a chance to visit the museum in the cloister? a couple videos someone got from their visit

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=095Twirb9ck

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhocuztC3I8

 

 

There is also a monastery of the Poor Clares of the Immaculate, who are close to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, but I couldn’t visit the church or talk to the sisters, because it was Sunday and everything was closed.

However, I thank God for everything he gave me this past month, and I hope he will show me his will more and more each day.

I just wanted to share my joy and let you know that I also prayed for you and for all the people that are seeking their vocation.

 

Actually it's the contemplative branch of Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Citta di Castello ~ http://www.franciscansoftheimmaculate.com/religious-life/history/contemplative-sisters.html  There are some differences between them and the Poor Clares of the Immaculate, though they're the same religious family.

 

An English book online on St. Veronica Giuliani ~ http://www.veronicagiuliani.com/ :heart:

 

Thank you so much for praying for all of our vocations there!!

[Julie de Sales]

Was it the Poor Clare Capuchins who made a foundation in your country? http://www.santaveronicagiuliani.it/ (that site is not working for me now, but it was just a few days ago) How wonderful!! Did you get a chance to visit the museum in the cloister? a couple videos someone got from their visit

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=095Twirb9ck

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhocuztC3I8

 

 

Actually it's the contemplative branch of Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Citta di Castello ~ http://www.franciscansoftheimmaculate.com/religious-life/history/contemplative-sisters.html  There are some differences between them and the Poor Clares of the Immaculate, though they're the same religious family.

 

An English book online on St. Veronica Giuliani ~ http://www.veronicagiuliani.com/ :heart:

 

Thank you so much for praying for all of our vocations there!!

 

No, there is other community of Poor Clares from Citta' di Castello who came to my country. 

I regret I haven't visited the museum, there was an open door who gave into the parlour but I haven't had the courage to enter and I didn't knew that the museum was available for visits (it was also Sunday).

I assumed that in Citta' di Castello were the Poor Clares of the Immaculate because that's what it was written on the indicators to the monastery.

It was a big grace to visit St Veronica Giuliani, I have read her life before and I remained very impressed.While I was looking at her body in the shrine I remembered all the extraordinary penances that she made and all her extraordinary life and I asked ther to help me live in the presence of God my ordinary life.

[inperpetuity]

Thank you for your prayers for us, JDS.  What a wonderful grace to be able to visit these holy places.

[Chiquitunga]

No, there is other community of Poor Clares from Citta' di Castello who came to my country. 

I regret I haven't visited the museum, there was an open door who gave into the parlour but I haven't had the courage to enter and I didn't knew that the museum was available for visits (it was also Sunday).

I assumed that in Citta' di Castello were the Poor Clares of the Immaculate because that's what it was written on the indicators to the monastery.

It was a big grace to visit St Veronica Giuliani, I have read her life before and I remained very impressed.While I was looking at her body in the shrine I remembered all the extraordinary penances that she made and all her extraordinary life and I asked ther to help me live in the presence of God my ordinary life.

 

That is really beautiful what you prayed... :pray: Yes, she certainly had an extraordinary life indeed! It's good we also have "ordinary" saints to look up to too, like St. Therese.. by that I mean ones that became great saints but didn't have all the mystical revelations like St. Veronica or others did.

 

That makes sense that the monastery would be labeled as Clarisse/Poor Clares since it belonged to a Poor Clare community before, as it says on that FI site. It's neat these two Poor Clare monasteries are so close! 

 

I heard actually that you have to make an appointment in advance to go inside the cloister to the museum. I heard this from a couple sources, although on this site it doesn't say that, http://www.innertravelbooks.com/pages/excerptsItaly5.html#StVeronicaG  Maybe it's on certain days that it's open without an appointment. The person who took those videos seems to have been there on a big Feast day, probably her Feast, where there was a public Mass in the enclosure.

 

All very wonderful to learn about! Thank you so much again for sharing your experience with us and your prayers! 

[Chiquitunga]

a clip from Bob & Penny Lord's program on her which I bought (don't have EWTN) very much worth it! http://www.bobandpennylord.com/St_Veronica_Giuliani.htm

 

http://youtu.be/qG31oZ-G_No

 

some of those scenes are from her shrine in Mercatello sul Metauro, where the house where she was born and raised is, now another Poor Clare Capuchin Monastery ~ http://cappmercatello.altervista.org/santa-veronica-giuliani/

 

 

[Chiquitunga]

Happy feast of St. Veronica Giuliani! 

 

 

St. Veronica & Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament :heart:

 

There are a bunch of posts on her today on this blog ~ http://littleplantofstfrancis.blogspot.com/ (click older posts on the bottom too, there are a few more on the 2nd page) I think the author of that blog has done a lot of research on her! 

Edited July 10, 2013 by Chiquitunga

[Julie de Sales]

Very beautiful picture!  :heart: