Poor Clare Journey in ITaly Part 3

Thursday 9 June – Today we went to La Verna, leaving about 7.30 for a two hour drive in the coach. The weather was a little dubious and as we began the climb into the mountains we ran into some fog which made us wonder if all would be invisible. But we seemed to climb out of it again and for the energetic who hoped to climb to the top of the mountain, it was probably just as well that it was not too hot. When we arrived at the sanctuary and walked up to the guest house part, there was the usual bath room call and then the coffee call. The people in the restaurant were a little wary since usually we get picnic lunches from them, but last year they were so awful and stale and inedible that this year we got them in Assisi instead. However all was OK. Fortified by coffee and biscuits, we moved on to the sanctuary proper where Andre talked us through the historical background and made sure we saw as many as possible of the enormous and lovely dell Robbia ceramics there. We saw 13/15, ot bad. The steps to the mountain side were being reconstructed (necessary) but it meant they could not go down to the Sasso Spico and the cave where Francis used to pray below the huge dramatic rocks. After the historical input, we had a beautiful Mass in the chapel of the Stigmata, Assumpta from Arkley spoke very movingly during Mass and then mantras sang well too. Then people were ‘let loose’ and the climbers began their treck, arriving (they say) to a wonderful view. Finally it was time for the procession at 3.00. Andre had spoken to someone in the Curia (in Rome) and the Guardian knew we were there and in our honour they carried their relic in procession. Usually it only comes out on special occasions. The relic is a piece of cloth stained with Francis’ blood from the Stigmata, and we were invited to process immediately after the friars, from the main basilica to the Stigmata chapel. Soon after that we had to start for the bus and the long drive back to Assisi. The clouds and fog had cleared and they were able to see the ruins of Orlando of Chiusi’s castle

Friday 10 June 10 - Today we went to San Francesco. We had Mass at the tomb of Francis where we arrived in good time, and before Mass one of the friars came to the microphone and welcomed us. He said that in this year of St Clare they were trying to know her charism better since they realise it is part of their charism. All very heartening to hear. Then he gave us a holy card (Francis preaching to the birds) with a prayer on in English. After Mass and a quick break for necessities, Andre began an account of the frescoes in the Upper Basilica after which I did my best on the lower basilica. I think people were pretty bombed out by that time and mostly interested in sitting down. Annie Bremmer, whom some of us know, was also guiding a group of American High School kids around, so we kept bumping into them too as we went. The basilica is rich in art, and wonderful if you have time, but to whizz through it like this is pretty awful. The only alternative was to leave it out altogether and that did not seem right. I notice a big difference with this pilgrimage and the Study Pilgrimage which is more than twice as long, and therefore has much more space in it. I think this lot are more tired after a week than the Study Pilgrims after a month. But also every place we have been there has been so much done to make it memorable. After the Upper Balisica, I ‘did’ the Lower with them, the first time I have done it and they all looked a bit glassy eyed, but we survived.

Saturday 11 June – I seem to have lost my programme and cant for the life of me remember what happened on this day, but I think it was the day we went to La Maddalena

Sunday 12 June – To Rome via Greccio and La Foresta where we had Mass and also the young men of Mondo X gave us a wonderful meal. It was laid out in their refectory with scarlet table cloths, flowers on the table, fruit and everything beautiful. Such nice young men who served at table in their best clothes and made it a very special meal. The sisters loved them and wont, I think, forget them. We saw round their garden and vegetable plot, not a plant out of place. They told us that Padre Eligio, the friar who began this programme for young people in trouble and who still runs it, says to them that if they create beauty outside themselves, beauty will also come inside themselves.

From La Foresta we made a short stop at Fonte Colombo and gave them the Recommitment to Franciscan Life cards, and sent them off for an hour to make a private commitment, since we had all renewed our vows in San Paolo. Then on to the shock of Rome, the traffic, the noise, the rush and with all the faith in the world, a completely different view of the Church. The bus managed the twisting climb to Casa Tra Noi where we were staying and we found our rooms and unpacked and all that.

Monday 13 June – found us in St Peter’s and able, after a struggle on Andre’s part, to have Mass at the tomb of Bl John XXIII. Then he gave us a guided tour of St Peter’s, this takes nearly two hours and is very interesting though tiring. At the end, he and I took the headsets back to the firm we hire them from and went back to the Casa, he exhausted and I because my talk for that evening was not quite ready. After lunch and a siesta we hopped in the bus again to go to San Francesco a Ripa, the only church in Rome dedicated to Francis (though there is one dedicated to the Stigmata). This is built on what used to be Lady Jacopa’s family land and in Francis’ time was a hostel run by the Benedictines. She persuaded them to give it to the Friars and apart from a hiccup during the unification of Italy, it has been cared for by them ever since. This is where the little room is where Francis slept, up the stairs behind the main altar. You have to ask to see it. All one side of the church was covered with scaffolding as there was restoration work going on so we were not able to see the Bernini’s carving of Louisa Albertoni in exctasy, looking at scaffolding instead.

Tuesday 14 June – was our trip to Anagni. It was a bit edgy as this has not been done before and we did not know some useful things like how to get form the cathedral to the Poor Clares! We spent hours on Google the night before and although we got them both on the screen at once,, could not really see the route between them. However the Abbess has been wonderfully helpful and answers emails at once, which was as well because as I was falling asleep the night before I remembered I had not told her about the three sisters with diets, so hopped up and did so. I had the only room which connected with the Wifi in the lobby, just as well.
We arrived in Anagni in record time, collecting Fr Francis Walter, one of the General Curia ofm who was coming with us and had a greeting from the Minister General for us too. Once there we took the sisters up to the cathedral which seemed less far than when we had scouted out last year. Unfortunately Clare Agnes fell over and had a nasty graze on her knee, but a man appeared from nowhere and said he was a doctor and that it would be better to leave it uncovered, at least until it had had a good wash. He advised us to go to the hospital (A and E) on our way but I am afraid we did not. CA was OK though shaken and had collected some more aches and bruises I fear. But she made it to the top of the hill and the beautiful 9^th century cathedral where Clare was canonised. We had a lovely Mass, reading most of the Bull of canonisation during the course of it, Fr Frank delivered the Minister General’s encouragement and then a young woman on the staff showed us the beautiful medieval crypt covered in frescoes, and with an unspoilt Cosmati floor as well.

After Mass, helped by a map from her (Michaela) we walked the short distance to the Monastery, our three seniors going in the parish priest’s car, to the Poor Clare Monasteyr which was founded in 1255 to commemorate the canonisation. We had met them the year before when we were preparing this, they had been so welcoming and had invited us to a meal with them. M Abbess came and welcomed us and we soon felt very at home. They had prepared a wonderful meal (another one!) and we all sat with them in the refectory and ate and talked, the Filipinas sang, then they novitiate of Anagni sang, then we all sang, then the Filipina sisters sang again and everybody danced and there was much joy. Frank and Andre were there in the refectory with us and came round the monastery too, though this did not interest them as much as it did us! And finally it was time to go and the crowning bonus was the we discovered a door on our tour onto the main road, so the bus could come right to the door to collect us. The driver could not seem to take this in, so there were some lively exchanges between him and the abbess but this would not be Italy if there were no operatic interludes!

And so back to Rome, to the evaluation of the pilgrimage, a lovely sharing on what had been particularly good for each sisters, and then the closing ritual during which they were each given a Tau cross (another one!) and commissioned to spread healing and peace and champions of the Tau. Then our last supper and so to bed. This morning I am writing this soon after 6.00 so as to finish and publish before we leave. The two from Scotland are the first to leave, Fr Aidan is coming for them at 7.30; then the big UK contingent at 8.45 and the Filipinas are staying on a bit for this an that. Two of them are taking Colette from Myanga with them for lunch and their friends will drive her out to the Scots’ College where she will stay the night and the very nice rector, another Fr Frank, will see she catches her plane to Nairobi.

This has been a very remarkable pilgrimage and such a joy to be able to put what I have learnt back into the Poor Clare world. All our friends and family were prayed for in every place and remembered with love. It seems odd to think that in 6 hours time we shall be back in the UK.

And so this concludes this particular travel-log, with love and prayers

Frances Teresa

Poor Clare Journey in Italy Part 2

Tuesday 7 June ­– Today we went to San Damiano for the day, an amazing privilege given by the generosity of the guardian, Br Claudio. We began with a special Morning Prayer which honoured Franciscan Women through the ages and had a chance to mention any who had been significant in our own lives as well. This threatened to go on for ever but Andre chipped in firmly with ‘Let us Pray’!!!Then we had breakfast and those who wished to walk set off for San Damiano and the less agile waited for taxis. I phoned Br Claudio to let him know we were coming and he was there in the forecourt as we arrived, welcoming us and ushering us into the church. We had Mass in the actual church of San Damiano itself, the first of his gifts to us, very rarely granted, and also early in the day so there were no tourists there. That was a powerful Mass after which Claudio gave us a tour of the monastery and also of much of the friary backstage. So we walked in the Garden of the Canticle (where it was written which you normally only see through the window) and saw up into the old dormitory probably dating back to Clare’s life time, because the most recent thinking is that Francis did less than had been thought but that some building and changes were made in the time of Clare. It makes sense is you think how the community grew. After this tour we had a free run of the place, friary part and the ‘tourist’ part and probably went everywhere. The friars kept an exemplary silence but always smiled when they saw is, sitting around on walls and benches. It was a most powerful experience. But the highlight, for me at least, and I think for many of us, was when we took our picnic lunches into Clare’s refectory and ate our lunch there. Assumpta said grace before and Lillian after the meal. We had talked about it first and decided we wanted to eat in silence, and so we did, sitting round at the refectory tables exactly as if we were her community. I felt that any minute she would say: Dear Sisters, there are a few things to give out before you go.

At about 3.30 the friars unexpectedly brought us coffee, tea and a huge Panettone which we demolished with gratitude, it was such a nice brotherly gesture. At 5.00 we met in a little room Claudio had shown us, to share together anything people wanted to say about what this day had meant. This was very powerful, there were lots of tears and people had clearly been deeply moved. I think some lives were changed. Then at 6.00 when the tourists had gone, we all went upstairs to the dormitory and had a short liturgy and an anointing for healing, there beside the place where Clare died. I asked her to heal my knee which has been getting steadily more painful, but since then it got incredibly worse until, by the time we were in the Protomonastery, I could hardly walk. But that is another story. Perhaps it is getting better, we shall see.

Wednesday 8 June – This was the day for Santa Chiara. We made our way there early and went straight down to the tomb where we had Mass at 8.00 am. After that the sacristan (an extern sister) opened up the steps to the sarcophagus of Clare which lay up above the altar in the little arched chapel which had been built for it when it was first placed underground some 15 feet, back in the 1260s. This is very moving, more than the ‘body’ really, since the body is little more than a plaster frame with some bones underneath it. Then we had the historical visit, saw the dossal showing Clare and scenes from her life, painted in the 1280s, also the tombs of Ortolana, Agnes and other sisters, including Benedetta who built the basilica, all buried in the little Agnes Chapel. I told them anything I knew about the frescoes and whatever details came to mind and also saw the relics, including the alb Clare made. There was some personal time after that and then back at the Casa for a lecture on the finding of Clare’s tomb, followed by Andre on the finding of Francis’ tomb, although chronologically that came first. Then back for pranzo and a rest. 5.00 pm saw us gathering outside the gate of the Protomonastery waiting ages for the bell to be answered. Finally the enclosure door opened and we were welcome by the Abbess Chiara Damiana, the previous abbess Chiara Daniela, Chiara Anastasia and a couple of others. These spent all the time with us, accompanied us when we went to the relics – and saw the actual privilege of poverty (I have an emailed photo if anyone wants it) as well as the actual parchment of Innocent IV’s approval, the one on show is a copy while the real one lives in air conditioned circumstances on a bed of Japanese rice paper, apparently the latest thing in document preservation. We saw some of Francis’ hair (black as black) and the plank he lay on when dead and were told definitively that the story of discovering the Rule in the fold of Clare’s cloak when they opened the coffin, is Not True. It seems the parchment was kept for a long time in a reliquary wrapped in a piece of  habit material. What a come down. It is true that there was no mention of it in the contemporary account of finding her body. That all took quite a while, and then we were taken upstairs to the cloister garden where there were refreshments all laid out for us, peach tea, carrot and apricot tea, ‘ordinary’ tea and several plates of biscotti. By now it was 6.30 and so we went to the San Damiano Cross chapel and said evening prayer with them and so made our way back to the casa after two very wonderful days. I am sure there is more to say but I will stop there and send this off in the morning.

Our Poor Clare 'Cammino di Chiara' in Italy

The Poor Clare Journey in Italy

Saturday 4 June – all the pilgrims arrive. Fr Andre’ Cirino and Sr Frances Teresa went to the airport to meet them and found that with one exception (from the United States) the whole Filipina contingent had already arrived and had also met up with Sr Colette from our community in Myanga, Kenya. Not only that, they had brought some sandwiches with them, egg and just a touch of garlic, very nice! Since we had left Assisi at 7.00 that morning, they were welcome. Finally all had arrived, looking rather exhausted and bombed out. The UK sisters who had been in Arundel the previous night, had had to leave at about 4.00 that morning and, as anyone who has ever flown will remember, you walk many mils at Gatwick before you even see a plane. However, all were finally in the coach and we set off for Assisi where we arrived for a late Pranzo, after which people found their rooms and had some time to settle in. There was a Welcoming ceremony later and each pilgrim was given The Pilgrim’s Companion which contains information and reading as well a liturgies for each place. 

Sunday 5 June – This morning began with Morning Prayer on the roof garden from which the whole of Assisi could be seen emerging from them mist. The air was full of swallows, a most wonderful sight. After breakfast, we set off for Bastia where Clare first went after joining Francis. There is no longer much there except a small chapel dating back to Clare’s time but the monastery was demolished in war with Perugia (of course!) and is now a cemetery for the town. We showed the pilgrims round, told them a bit about the place and its history and then went inside this small and historic chapel, for Mass. Because this was the place where St Clare had pulled off her veil to show the family that she had received the tonsure and therefore was now under the jurisdiction of the Church and not of civil society, it has become the custom for Poor Clares to renew their vows in this place. There were 30 of us, so we renewed them six at a time, holding on the to altar which is almost certainly the original slab which was there in Clare’s time. The chapel is cared for by the Benedictine sisters, descendants of that 13^th century community and, though we did not realise at first, it was the abbess herself who came to prepare the altar for our Mass. The renewal of vows was very moving and a wonderful start to our pilgrimage.

After Mass, and some time to pray in that precious place, we all hopped back into taxis and drove a couple of kilometres to the present Benedictine monastery where we were welcomed most warmly by the Mother Abbess and sisters. A group of us had prepared a short liturgy and a liturgical dance to express the gratitude of the Poor Clares to the Benedictine sisters who gave shelter to Clare in that very beginning and without which, we might not exist. We saw around some of the monastery though there was not much time, but came away feeling we had made real friends with that community which had befriended Clare when she needed them.

After pranzo and a short riposo, we set off in showery weather for the cathedral of San Rufino. In the font there, both Francis and Clare had been baptized and we renewed our baptismal vows. Perhaps this should have come first but because the previous day was a Sunday it was not possible to have Mass in any of the major churches – which is why we began at Bastia. Andre talked about the cathedral which was being built in Clare’s time, the altar was consecrated in 1224 and this led to a discussion about the site of Clare’s house, which cannot have been where the plaque is today. Fortini says that the previous cathedral did not begin to be demolished until 1210 and suggests that the Offreduccio palazzo was actually the building on the corner of the piazza – a controversy still to be resolved!

Although it was still very showery, we took the sisters on a tour of Assisi so that they could get a picture of this very small city. This was an orientation tour and a good deal of information was imparted on the way. Then after supper they all fell gladly into bed and caught up on the travel tiredness.

Monday 6 June – This morning Mass was at the Porziuncola, the little chapel which is the mother church of the Franciscan movement. It is always so moving to see it under its enormous and not very beautiful dome. We had a most moving Mass there followed by a historical visit and some time to pray and wander. Then at 12.15 we gathered again, the sisters were sent off in pairs with a picnic to commemorate the picnic which Francis and Clare shared at that place, when they spoke such burning words about God that the people of Assisi thought the wood was on fire. Fortunately the weather was good, a little cloudy but no rain. In fact some bought sunhats! This was a crowded day in which we visited two little chapels, La Maddalena and San Rufino d’Arce, both connected with the lepers of Assisi and the first is the place where Clare and the sisters possibly worked with the women lepers in the very early days.

After pranzo at the Casa Papa Giovanni, we then piled into taxis again and set out for Sant’Angelo in Panzo. This was a first for us all and none of us even knew where it was though the taxi drivers, all local men, knew. It is about 3 kilometres from Assisi on the other side from Bastia, so when Francis took Clare there, they had a walk of about 9 or 10 kilometres, ;perhaps more as they would have had to skirt the city – it would have been too dangerous to take her into the town, and maybe they travelled at night as well and this is why the sources are so careful to say that the brothers accompanied her. We left the made-up road and went along a cart track and finally arrived. The Parish Priest of San Rufino had made all the arrangements for us and a nice young woman who looks after it when the family are away (it is a private house now) was waiting for us. It is such a beautiful house, far from the noise of traffic, so we could hear the wind in the trees and the birds singing. There is a central section of the house which was there in Clare’s time and also the apse of the church which is even older. It was very moving to see these, especially as we had never done so before, but Rita, the young woman, told us that groups of young people do come there who are walking the Cammino di Chiara, the Clare Walk from Bastia to Sant’Angelo to San Damiano to the Basilica. This is what we were doing too in a way. The Filipina contingent re-enacted the arrival of Clare’s sister and then the angry uncles and knights. It was well done and also very funny though not for Clare and Catherine! We had quite a bit of time to wander round and it was a very refreshing place to be, moving to think of Clare there and interesting in that it had no monastic ‘feel’ to it in the way San Paolo had. She was experiencing different forms of religious life, it seems and also San Damiano is not far from Sant’Angelo and we too were moving towards it.