Lots of Walking: Lines and Tourists

These last few days have been busy, but I think the two Sals are enjoying themselves in different ways. They've got some father-son time together too, which is nice. Today we went to see the Vatican Museums. We were standing in line for 45 minutes and then spent over 3 hours roaming through the artifacts until we reached the Sistine Chapel. It was exhausting, but both told me that they enjoyed seeing so much. We had a quick lunch in a trattoria behind the Vatican, did some souvenir hunting, and then got back to the UPS at 3:00 pm. An early day, all and all.

Messages of gratitude

Today is the feast of Mary Help of Christians (Maria Ausiliatrice), and we had a day of celebrations at the UPS that were wonderful. Sal and son went into Rome on their own to do some shopping. I went to concelebrate at the liturgy in the University Parish of Maria della Speranza. Aunt Rose had found her way there, but I did not see her until the end of the mass. She loved it.

Oh, the principal celebrant was Archbishop Angelo Amato, of the Congregation of the Faith. In my student days at the UPS he was professor of systematic theology and then dean of the faculty of theology. It was good to see him, but I didn't have a chance to visit with him personally.

Afterwards there was a picnic lunch in the piazza of the University. We joined the little English-speaking group there under the porticoes and Carlo and Sebastian looked out for my Aunt too. Another thing that she enjoyed was the meal "al fresco" with the young Salesians. It was at about that time that the two Sals joined us, happy with their day of shopping and touring on their own.

In the evening, at the end of the festive meal in our Don Rua community dining room, Aunt Rose wanted to give a message of thanks, and I translated her words for the community:

I arrived as a guest and you have made me family. I came as a visitor and you have made me part of your community. For years my husband and I have supported the Salesian Missions, but I never knew any Salesian other than my nephew. Now I have met you and realize that you represent the Church as missionaries in so many countries. I now have faces to put in front of me when I pray for and help the Salesian mission efforts. Thank you from the heart.

After the meal, we went out into the Piazza hoping to catch a glimpse of the Marian procession, but it got a late start, and our little Boenzi contingent was tired and returned to the university to get some sleep. Rose leaves tomorrow to return to her home in Sacramento.

Lots of Water: Laundry and Fountains

Did laundry in the morning -- and this extended into the afternoon since I could not make large loads. The Sals have a lot of clothes.

Afternoon trip to Rome: Piazza Navona, San Luigi dei Francesi, Giolitti for gelato, Monte Citorio, Trevie Fountain. I told them the story of how, if you throw a coin in the Fontana di Trevie, you will return to Rome. I'd heard the story when I was a kid from a Salesian who had been a student in Rome, Fr Ralph Simeoni. Then the story was told in the movie "Roman Holiday", and that made the practice famous. However, I have since learned that the legend is not from Hollywood but indeed Roman and a very old tradition that goes back at least a couple of centuries.

Well, there were so many people around the fountain that it was impossible to get too close without being attacked by Indian vendors insisting on our buying trinkets. Their pushiness did not matter; being at the fontana is always magic for me, and I saw it was for my engineer of a brother and sometimes-skeptical nephew. But we did not throw in any coins. Sal simply said, "I've already decided to come back to Rome; I don't need to throw in any coins for that."

Quick trip to Acerra

just returned from four days in the hometown of my family outside Naples. I brought my brother and his son to meet our relatives there. Since my brother does not know Italian and the relatives there do not know English, I worked as simultaneous translator throughout the trip. They all enjoyed meeting each other, and soon the language barrier was not such an issue.

Aunt Rose and her trouble walking

It is hard to believe how busy the last three days have been since my Aunt Rose's arrival. We haven't really done a lot of things, but I have spent the days with her and so my usual routine is on hold. Happily my students are working on their papers and do not need input from me.

A serious question is my aunt's health. Yesterday we were in Assisi, and she enjoyed the trip thoroughly. She told me that in her earlier trips she had never been able to visit the Catholic holy places. It was like a pilgrimage for her. However, there were some problems. As soon as we started walking she experienced a swelling in her legs and feet. Is there too much salt in the Italian diet? Of course there is!, but is this the reason for her problem? What will happen when the two Sals arrive tomorrow from Arizona? All our planned travel: will we be able to carry on with that?

Well, we'll play it by ear. Tomorrow I want to bring my Aunt Rose down to St Peter's Square for the Pope's "Regina Coeli" message at noon. I'll see how she manages the transit and the walking. Then, in the afternoon, I will go to Fiumicino on the train and meet my brother and his son at the airport. I hope this "Rome by Transit System" works out for them.

Aunt Rose in Rome

Aunt Rose arrived on Wednesday (10 May). I've been very busy these days taking her around… she is having a hard time with walking and cannot even take more than ten steps going upstairs or uphill. As long as it is just the two of us I can pace things. I don't know what we'll do when Sal and his son arrive. I want Sal's son to have a good time and see things. Well, we'll see how it all develops.

Yesterday we spent the day in Assisi. We took the train from Rome at 8:10 and arrived in Assis at about 10:30. First stop was Our Lady of the Angels, which was easy to get to because on level ground. We caught a mass there at 11:00. Then we took a bus up to Assisi proper. Rose took one look at the road to the basilica of St Francis, and said "no way." We took a cab to the basilica, and saw the crypt and lower church, but she would not go up to the top church (which is a pity because it is the more beautiful of the two). Then we went down hill, found a restaurant and had a little meal, then again downhill to the bus stop, and took the bus to the train station arriving at 3:00. Since there was no train until 5:47, we returned to Our Lady of the Angels and went through the museum, stopped at some of the shops, and then ended the afternoon with some softdrinks in the railway station cafe. The train got us back to Rome at 8:15, and we stopped for Chinese food before entering the university at 10:15.

Rose enjoyed the trip to Assisi very much. Today she joined the Don Rua community for mass and meals and evening prayer. For the most part, however, she simply rested. Tomorrow we'll try St Peter's for the Pope's Angelus message. That'll be a bit of a challenge, but we will see how it goes.

Emanuele and Francesco

Last Friday, 5 May, I met with two "giovani" who frequent the Scientific Lyceum of the FMA in Rome (Via Dalmazia 12). Their names are Emanuele Pelliccia, who is 18, and his classmate Francesco Serafini, who is 19. They are both in their fifth and final year of "Liceo", which would be the equivalent of completion of junior college in USA.

Emanuele, with whom I've been in contact for over two months, can speak English; he had told me that Francesco is even better in English, and Francesco confirmed this.

When I met Emanuele on 8 April, I went over the different programs of the province, and prepared some notes for the two boys, but learning that their timetable was restricted (they must sustain the state-wide examinations in the latter part of June and the first half of July), it was my thought that the best possibility for them would be to help out in the parish and youth centers in Boyle Heights. Mel Trinidad confirmed this, and spoke with Fr Jim Nieblas in this respect. I presented this as the placement option, then, when I met with Emanuele and Francesco last Friday.

Tomorrow I will go to the home of Francesco to meet both sets of parents and to share a bit about what they can expect as volunteers in Los Angeles during the summer.

Salvatore and Alberto

Salvatore Palmiro Boenzi is the son of Alberto and Maddalena. Here he is with his first-born son, Alberto, on Sunday, 7 May 2006.

Alberto was born in July 2005, and is named after his father's father (Alberto Boenzi) who died in 1986. Salvatore is himself an only child, and has married late (at age 40). His wife Marisa, 34, is also from Acerra. Unless they have other children, the Boenzi name may well die out completely in Acerra, where the Boenzi name first appeared in the 1500s. It is the only town in Italy where the name occurs (except for migrations in the very recent past).

But let's leave demographics aside. Albertino is a sweet baby who is easily contented, but who wants above all to be held and cuddled. In this department the parents are wondering how to get him to stay a little by himself. But he is a baby who loves company.

Acerra

Just got back from a weekend in Acerra. The purpose of my quick trip was to arrange for the visit later this month of by brother Sal and his son (also Sal) and my father's sister Rose. I have spoken over the phone with the family and have sent e-mails, but I have long known that with Italians, and with Neapolitans in particular, it is necessary to meet face-to-face to arrange these kinds of visits.

The weekend was quiet, for the most part, and I many spent time with Zia Olga. I also saw my cousin Salvatore Boenzi and his family. There are now only three people named Boenzi who are left in Acerra. Olga, who is 86; Salvatore, who will soon be 43; Alberto, who is 10-months old. This means that in two weeks we will doublt the number of Boenzis in Acerra!

Retreat coming to an end

Our annual retreat comes to an end today. Every morning has been dedicated to a conference and reflection time; every afternoon we visited the different places of the life of Francis de Sales, and had little explanations in the places. Five of my students are on this retreat, and so they know a lot of the details, but they are very happy to see the actual places. However I realize that the vast majority of the Salesians participating in this week have no idea about Francis de Sales. So, between the talks of Fr Morand Wirth and Fr Jozef Strus', I fill in some background for some of the Indians (like, what is the Introduction to the Devout Life, and what are the Calvinists). We are talking some very basic information, because they are really clueless about Francis de Sales (and pretty clueless about Don Bosco too, as I found out in the four short hours that we were in Valdocco). So, I've told them they should come and do the ISS course (yeah, as if!).

Well, I'll be back in Rome overnight: tomorrow I will leave for Slovenia for a week of conferences and such.

Annecy retreat - Thorens and La Roche

Today on the retreat, Fr Morand Wirth led us through the first day according to Part Five of the Devout Life in his morning conference. In the afternoon, we took a tour of the birthplace of St Francis de Sales (Thorens) and the town of La Roche, where he had his early schooling.

Birthplace of St Francis de Sales

Thorens - Salesianum: the first stop in the talking tour or retreat pilgrimage was the birthplace of St Francis de Sales. Nothing remains of the original chateau, burned during the 30 years war. Over the site of the place where the master bedroom stood is now a chapel to commemorate the birth of our saint. It is a bit of a disappointment for us, but the best we can have now, 400 years later. It brings home the undrstanding that these placid hills were outraged by generations of wars. So if we could not visit the actual home of the child Francis, at least we can stand on the same spot.

Saint Maurice, Thorens

Church of Saint Maurice, parish church of Thorens. It is here that Francis de Sales was baptized on 28 August 1567. He chose to be ordained bishop in this same church. This took place on 8 December 1602.

Thorens: Monument to St Francis de Sales

Just beside the parish church is a simple monument to St Francis de Sales. It serves as a welcome sign to the town and divides the town's principal street. Among the monuments to Francis de Sales, it is quite simple and, for this reason, also quite lovely.

The De Sales Family Castle

Salesianum: this is the name of the home of the De Sales Family. It is also known as Chateau De Sales, and it is a real castle. This terrain and structure predates the arrival of the De Sales Family to Thorens. It was orginally a fortress, built to defend the valley from the onslaught of the French. Francis' father and uncle were responsible for this line of defense in the years after Savoy regained its independence in 1559. Francis' younger brother Louis de Sales, also a military man, secured this castle as the family home. After the birthplace of Francis and his brothers and sisters was destroyed by fire during the Thirty-Years War, this became the main residence for the de Sales family, and remained so until just a year ago when the last descendent of Louis de Sales died. His widow has closed it to the public in the past year.

La Roche-sur-Furon

La Roche is a town of medieval origins, rich in history and significance for Savoy. It is today the tenth city in size and influence in Haute Savoie. It is also the town where Francis de Sales and his three cousins received their primary schooling. The parish church has an onion dome. This is a sign that the townspeople fought with Napoleon in the campaign against Russia. Napoleon lost the war and many in his empire lost their lives, but the onion-dome belltowers still proclaim the heroism of the townspeople. It is, I suppose, a consolation prize.

Easter journey and retreat preparation

Last night (Easter Sunday night) a group of us left Rome for Torino. The group included students and staff from the UPS, from Testaccio, as well as various Salesians from the Roman province. Our destination is Annecy, for the annual retreat. We will be led through the retreat by Morand Wirth through the places of St Francis de Sales.

I am making this my annual retreat, and while I have been to Annecy three times already, I have never spent more than two days there. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this.

Okay, we got to Torino at 6:30, and reached the mother house at Valdocco at 7:15. Waiting for us was John Roche, who is from my own province of course. John is also taking part in this retreat, as are several others from the Don Bosco community of the UPS. He did not come with us on the bus last night because he traveled to Torino directly from Treviso, where he has been helping with Holy Week confessions. He has now had the experience of the Cure of Ars, for from the Saturday before Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, he was hearing confessions for seven hours every day. And because there were a lot of people for the masses too, he was needed to preach. He said he learned more Italian in the confessional than in the Italian classes he took last September!

After morning prayers in the church of St Francis de Sales, and breakfast in the pilgrim lunch room, there was free time until 11:00 mass in the basilica. I saw a friend of mine from the 1970s, Franco Lotto. We visited for about an hour, but then I noticed that our Roman group was wandering around aimlessly. That's when it dawned on me. It is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in Italy. All the shops are closed today! So what are these guys going to do for the next two hours before Mass?

Saying goodbye to Franco, I went and found John Roche and a couple of Indian classmates of his (both of whom are named Sebastian) and offered to show them some of the historical places in the vicinity. They were pleased with this, and so I took them on a brisk walk to see some of the places within walking distance: the Rifugio, the little Hospital of St Filomena, the mother house of the Sister of St Anne (all founded by the Marchesa Barolo), the Cottolengo, the Insane Asylum (where they tried to cart off Don Bosco, but he slammed the carriage door on the monsignori, and they ended up there instead), the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, the main street of 19th Century Torino (Grosso Dora) and the path that Dominic Savio and John Cagliero used to take to get to school, the school where Savio, Rua, Cagliero, and classmates did their Middle School, the church of St Francis of Assisi, the City Hall, the church of the Dominicans where Don Bosco and the Oratory Boys ministered to the Cholera Victims in 1854…

Monument to St Joseph Cottolengo at the famous hospital that he founded

As I say, I brought them to these places really quickly, just touching the surface, since we only had about 90 minutes. But John and the two Sebastians were very happy, since they had heard of these places, but never even seen a photo of any of them. If there had been time, I would have taken them to the Cathedral to see the Shroud (encased, not on display), but there was no time really.

After mass and a quick lunch, we left Torino for the four hour bus ride to Annecy. Annecy is the home town of Francis de Sales. There were 57 of us on the bus (a bus which was designed for 40, but which has squeezed in more seats. It is not exactly American Airlines for leg room!) Then this evening, we started the retreat formally.

Good Friday

My thought had been to go to the Vatican today for the celebrations, but Fr Giuseppe Nicolussi asked me to preside at the Good Friday liturgy. The celebration was held in the "Gesù Maestro" community chapel. It was simple but complete. I think this was the second time that I have ever presided at Good Friday services. I also presided once at St Dominic Savio Parish when I was director of De Sales Hall, in my last year there (1990).

On the working front, today I completed the translation of all my Power Point presentations for the Francis de Sales course into Italian. Once that was done, I burned CD-Roms for all 21 students. The CD-roms contain copies of the 13 PowerPoint Presentations that I made during the semester, copies of their own Term Papers, a copy of the Group Discussions, which I had posted week-by-week on a blog for the class called "La Filotea e Noi", and finally some art work of Francis de Sales as culled from the sdb.org resource page.

With that, I've finished all my obligations to that batch of students. I just need to prepare two more classes for this semester's seminar on "Storytelling, John Bosco and Harry Potter". The big work is, of course, to complete my draft of my proposed book on "Francis de Sales: Story and Spirit".

Will I be able to do that? Not much time left.

Holy Thursday

Joined Albino Ronco and Christian Dubot for mass at the headquarters of the Sister Handmaids of the Sacred Heart. The community of Sisters has its origins in Peru, and they have been in Rome since 1910. They are located in a residential district that was built between 1918 and 1926. At one time they ran a school in their house; now they run an elder-care center, with about 50 elderly women. Many of these people, and many folks coming from the neighborhood came to this afternoon's service. The church was packed with the elderly, the sick, and a whole contingent of down children.

Visitandines in Rome

With the Salesians Morand Wirth and Francis Desramaut, both Salesian scholars (Morand at Rome, Francis in Lyons), I went to the Visitation monastery this morning, in via Galla Placidia. It was the first time I've gone there.

The sisters welcomed us very warmly; it seems that Salesians visit often, ever since Don Bosco paid his visit to the Roman Visitandines in the 1860s. We met five different sisters, as they came in the little parlor to chat, but since it is Wednesday and spring cleaning, they
were moving in and out. I only managed to take a photo of two of the sisters: the superior with the convent historian.

The reason for the visit is that Morand wanted to give the sisters a copy of his new book, "Francis de Slaes and Education". The book appeared originally in French last September; the
Italian translation came out last week. He gave them the Italian version, with a signed dedication. The sisters looked through the table of contents right away, and a whole string of associations and stories came out. Wonderful conversation!

Then Morand asked the Sisters to show me two of the convent's prized relics. One is Francis de Sales watch; the second was the Ostensorium with a fiber of his heart that was presented to Pius IX in 1877 on the occasion of the declaration of Francis as Doctor of the Church. They
were happy to do so, but immediately said that there is a new treasure: an Ostensorium with blood and plasma from the heart of Francis de Sales. There is an amazing story behind this, but I'll save this for another time.

Both Morand and Francis know the Visitation communities in France, and Morand has been in Italy 10 years now, so know the community in Treviso and in Moncalieri as well. There are some things that I didn't understand -- juridical elements about structures etc, but the sisters told me that the bishops in Europe are not too interested in contemplative orders, and for some time there has been a priest who acts as an advocate for the communites with the bishops. I didn't catch the name of this office, but until now the priest has always been a Jesuit. Now that priest became ill one year ago, and has stepped aside. The Visitandines here in Italy have asked the Holy See that the next person be a Salesian. They have submittted three names (all of SDBs) and are hoping for a favorable reply soon.

Archival dust 2

Yesterday I finally got to examine some material in the archives of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. I was able to examine the hand-written documentation taken from the notes of the original "process" for the beatification of Francis de Sales in 1627. Amazing! I suspect that it is a second copy because, while the questions of the panel are writtten in Latin, as I would have suspected, the testimony in these pages is recorded in Italian rather than French. For the last hundred years at least, testimony is always recorded in the language of the person giving it. But Francis de Sales is the first saint to go through the process of beatification… it could be that the canon lawyers and bishops on the commission were trying hard to make the process work. The fact is that they were all Savoiards, and the official language of the Duchy was Italian, as was the spoken language of Rome. Perhaps this is the reason. Anyway, I was totally excited, because it means that I can understand the testimony much more easily. The archivist only gave me two hours with the documents, and I was not allowed to make photocopies, because the documents are very fragile. She did tell me that I could take digital photos, however. I'll do that next time. Today I'll try to transcribe my notes to text, and go buy a digital camera. But seeing this material written five years after Francis de Sales' death, and being able to work with it, has made the whole trip to Rome very much worth it all the effort!

First time this year

Went to the Vatican this morning, after mass with a small community near Porta Pia… I had an appointment at the archives of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints at 10.00. When I got to St Peter's Square at 9.10, I found that the line to get into St Peter's was moving very quickly, so I joined the line, and made it into St Peter's at 9.25. This was the first time I got inside St Peter's this year. The lines have been long and slow all year, and I would give up after a few moments.

Most of the people are lining up to see John Paul II's tomb, so once you get through the metal detectors, you can move quickly to the basilica, if you dodge the tourists…

And going through St Peter's today I realized that few of these people are pilgrims. They are bona fide tourists. I had to wonder if this is a good thing.

One of my purposes was to see the tomb of John XXIII. His urn is not in the basilica proper, just around the pillar from the statue of St Peter and the potrait of Pius IX. There was a small group of pilgrims there (and I say pilgrims, because they were not snapping photos but praying).

After seeing John XXIII, I wandered around for a few moments, reflecting on what I'd show my brother and nephew when they come to Rome. I will need to contemplate how to get them to see the Vatican and the Vatican museums without putting them through the torture of the long lines. Yes, I'm going to have to plan this whole thing very carefully!

Palm Sunday

Today I did get over to the local Salesian parish (Santa Maria della Speranza - Our Lady of Hope) and help out for a couple of masses with confessions. The church has been filled to beyond capacity all during Lent, and today there was a definite element of festivity with Palm Sunday.

Okay, they call it Palm Sunday, but in Rome people do not carry palm branches but olive branches in the procession. In fact, I noticed that everyone held their olive branches throughout the entire reading of the Gospel, which of course was that of Mark's Passion of the Christ. As the masses ended, everyone greeted friends and neighbors -- a lot of kissing on both cheeks -- before leaving the church. As a couple of people told me: "Palm Sunday is a very special day, a day to pray for and work for peace. This is why we carry these olive branches to our homes".

With all the stress in today's families, the longing for peace is more acute than ever. I pray these Romans may find some peace this week.

Busy week

These days have been busy. I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for class… On Wednesday a group of students came to my office to speak to me about one thing or another, mainly looking for help figuring out their workload… and today I met Fr Luke Buckles from DSPT but who is now teaching at the Angelicum here in Rome. I brought him over to UPS. He was amazed and happy to see this different style of Rome than what he's used to. The Dominicans have their university in a facility built in the 1500s, within sight of the Presidential Palace (the Quirinale), the Roman Forum, the Jesuits' Gregorian University, the Altare della Patria, and all the major tourist sites. This was Luke's first time in a residential, working-class neighborhood. And he met a lot of the SDBs and a lot of students too. It was a good day…

One more day of school and then the Spring Break for Holy Week and Easter Week. I've been going down to the Vatican to the Archives, and hope that the school break will give me a chance to wrap up some research there (the process of beatification of Francis de Sales). Then it will be May… then it will be June…

Rome crowded for anniversary of John Paul II

Tomorrow will mark one year since the death of Pope John Paul II. Twice this week I have had to go down to the Vatican, including this morning. There are tens of thousands of pilgrims; the area is completely crowded, and the line-up to get into the basilica of St Peter's, or rather, to the grotto to visit the tombs of the popes is very long. In fact, I have not gone into St Peter's yet this year, because I haven't had the time to wait in line for two hours.

Of the statistics that I have heard: the normal amount of visitors to the tombs of the popes has been between 150 and 300 persons a day. Since the burial of John Paul II, the number on weekdays has averaged 15,000 people, while on weekends it has gone up to as many as 20,000 people. In fact, today there were many Italians in the lines. It seems that Italians are also making St Peter's the goal of pilgrimage again: to remember the "papa polacco", who won their affection, and to see "Papa Ratzinger", who speaks simply and seems to have won their respect as well. And that is a more interesting feat, since many Italians have still not gotten over the sufferings of the Second World War at the hands of the German Nazis after the fall of Mussolini's Fascist government.

So, it will be an interesting week ahead for the amount of pilgrims and visitors. To all appearances, the flood of pilgrims will continue through the Spring. In short, there have been as many visitors to St Peter's during this year since John Paul's death and Benedict's election as during the Great Jubilee of 2000.