OLM
Parish Reporter on Retreat in Assisi!

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St. Francis of Assisi, patron of Italy and also of our Archdiocese, has left us a spiritual heritage which is rich and varied. Visiting his city in Assisi afforded all of us on sabbatical a time of quiet, prayer, touring and really immersing ourselves into his life and times. Even with the devastation of the recent earthquake, there is ample evidence of Francis' heritage. The people of Assisi are struggling to rebuild as any of us know who have experienced the damage of an earthquake. The quanit town still retains the character of the time of Francis. It is an ancient walled town. The streets are narrow. What traffic exists is one way and it is by and large a human town with most of the passages and streets only for pedestrians. The town suffers today from the earthquake and the shops and other tourist venues ache to have the restored visits of the Faithful.
The town overlooks a fantastic valley in the Umbria area of Italy. The room I had looked over this valley to the town of Perugia, foes of the people of Assisi and the town which Francis fought against when he was in the service of his town. The main basilica only has the lower church and crypt of Francis' burial open. The pictures below hopefully give some hint of the beauty, history and faith of this town to this day.

Assisi Vistas and General Scenes and Memories

The streets and byways inside the walled city are narrow, one way where traffic is allowed and picturesque. Walking in the midst of history, it is truly inspirational and thought provoking.

An early morning view of the valley from my room, shows the awesome vista available. It also helped me understand the rationale of building a city on a hillside - it is easy to see who is coming to visit or attack or whatever.

The Church of St. Stephen where we celebrated Mass on the first day in Assisi is a plain stone building. It is Romanesque which means thick walls, little natural light but a cozy atmosphere to gather and pray.

After Mass one morning as we usually do, a stop at a coffee shop is part of the day. Fr. Tom Goekler, a Maryknoll priest, and I enjoyed this tradition one fine morn.

In the workroom of Francis' father in their former home, now a chapel, there is a new image of Francis and Clare shown on the right. On the left is the legendary cross which spoke to Francis calling him to conversion in Faith.

We celebrated Mass on the morning of November 19 at the tomb of St. Francis. Preparing for Mass on the left, we were joined by other pilgrims joined out group of vested priests for this memoralbe celebration.

On theleft, the facade of the upper basilica is presented. It is now closed for repairs but the facade and rose window pictured are impressive and contain images of the four evangelists surrounding the rose window.

   A series of three images close out my journey to Assisi. On the left, one of the hanging chandeliers in the crypt area of the Basilica of Saint Francis is pictured. It is now electrified but in the early days was no doubt candle-lit. I took this photo to show not only the fixture which is repeated throughout the chapel, but also since this one contains the familiar crossed arms of the Lord and Francis.
   The center image is the Basilica of Saint Clare. It now houses the famous crucifix which spoke to Francis calling him to his conversion. We celebrated Mass here as a community on Tuesday, November 17th.
   The final image is the Church of St. Mary. It is on the town square and is a church placed inside the Temple of Minerva from the Roman days of Assisi. it is rather plain on the inside but it is very interesting to see the functioning bell tower next to the roman columns and know that there is a Catholic Church now in this pagan building from antiquity.

-fr john glogowski, sabbatical 1998 roma

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OLM Parish Reporter on Retreat in Assisi!

Assisi Vistas and General Scenes and Memories

OLM
Parish Reporter on Retreat in Assisi!