Roma

Today we visited the Catacombe di San Callisto. This was amazing to go underground about 15 metres and see the burial sites of past popes, bishops and people. There were areas for families and some of the remains of painted and adorned walls were still evident. Although there were no remains there anymore it was still very evident of how it must have been. We then had mass in the small chapel underground. It was lovely to have mass there, although eery, it made me realise how lucky we were to have mass and not feel scared or threatened to practice our faith. I imagined how it must have felt for those over the centuries who have been persecuted for practising their faith and who were forced underground to celebrate the eucharist.

From here we then went to St Paul's Basilica. What a beautiful church to visit. The Cloister was amazing. It had the most beautiful courtyard surrounded by arches all decorated in mosaics and the garden was stunning. Around the church where tiled mosiacs all adorned in gold of every Pope we have had. Currently there have been 263 Popes. The relics in the museum dated back to the earliest of times and it was hard to believe that it housed remains of some of the apostles and saints. We then explored Rome on our own. The boys walked the Dome of St Peters Basilica and the girls shopped!!We are looking forward to coming home to our families.

Roma

Last night we walked to the trevi Fountain again. Holding our coins in our right hand we threw them over our left shoulder and wished that we will come back one day. What a beautiful night  - the fountain looks so much better of a night.

Roma

Today we started our day with a Mass in St Peter's Basilica - what a special mass. Deacon James preached the homily and talked about vocations whether they be religious, single or married life. Fr Michael then blessed all parents, mothers and couples on the pilgrimage. We then made a sign of the cross on all our children - our own or ones that wanted a blessing from us. It was very special and a lovely part of our mass. We then explored all things that the vatican contains - the Basilica, the Museum, the garden, the grotto and of course the Sistine Chapel. It was very busy and very hot but wonderful to visit and see all of the beauty that it contains.

We then visited the St Mary Major Basilica which houses a piece of the crib from Bethlehem. From here we went to the Basilica of St John in Lateran which is the Cathedral of Rome. Next to this were the Holy Stairs brought from Jerusalem to Rome. They are said to have had his blood on them. They are covered in wood and pilgrims climb the stairs on their knees, stopping to pray at each step. Many of us chose to do this.

Assisi to Roma

Today we started our tour of Assisi with a Mass in the The Basilica of San Francesco (in the chapel of St Catherine). Here lie the remains of St Francis. It is a beautiful Basilica which is constructed in three tiers. We then embarked on a tour of Assisi. This took us on a wild taxi tour towards Mt Subasio to the Hermitage. This is where St Francis retreated for silence and meditation. What a beautiful and amazing place, it was so peaceful, still and quiet. I could have stayed there all day. It is now a convent and Franciscan nuns live there.

We then moved on to San Damiano (Church and Covent of St Damian). This place was full of memories of St Francis. It was here that his conversion began, where the Crucifix spoke to him, where St Clare and her sisters stayed and that St Francis, while he was ill, composed the "Canticle of the Creatures". St Clare also died here.
Assisi is a most beautiful and majestic place. The views to the surrounding countryside are amazing. This is a place most definatley to put on the bucket list!
We the travelled on to Rome. We are in the Domus Australia Hotel. What a beautiful place to end our pilgrimage. The rooms are beautiful and we feel like we are staying in luxury. It was 43 degrees today as we entered Rome at 5.30pm. The days have been very hot.
We have just returned from a lovely walk to Trevi fountain and we have all thrown our coins in.

Assisi

Today we left Firenze and on the way stopped at Michaelangelo Square where we overlooked Firenze and all the beauty it contains. The view was fantastic.

We then traveled to Assisi where we had mass in the Basillica of St Clare and had a small walk through the town. We go back tomorrow for a guided tour.

Italy

Yesterday we travelled to Italy via plane to Milan. Here we visited the Duomo which was a beautiful Cathedral full of amazing stained glass windows. We had our first taste of pizza and gelati - yum!. We then met our new tour guide and made our way to Pisa. We arrived there at 6.30pm so as you can imagine it was a vey late night as we still had to make our way to Florence. What a beautiful trip. The scenery was stunning and of course Pisa is just amazing.

Today we explored Florence and enjoyed the highlights. We celebrated mass this morning in the Santa Croce. A beautiful Cathedral which houses the tombs of many famous people including Michelangelo. We walked through many historic parts and of course visited the statue of David. We then shopped till we dropped - we are all exhausted....

World Youth Day

Today was World Youth Day. We awoke to an 8.30 Mass here at the University and as we started in came the boys. We were so happy to see them back safe with us. They slept out and survived the big storm which ripped many of the tents and WYD banners apart. Thankfully we threw them our tarps when we couldn't get in. We spent the majority of the day catching up on sleep and rest. Tonight we watched Espana play Europe in a friendly game of soccer. Europe won 2 - 1. It was a brilliant game and an excellent atmosphere. The kids had a ball. A storm hit again which was nice as it cooled us all down. We are back now packing and getting ready to leave for Italy at 4.30am. 3 hours sleep - Yeah!!!

Pilgrimage walk

Today we walked to Cuatro Vientos - the site for the WYD gathering. What a day!! The boys set out early at 9am and walked the 14klm. We set off in the afternoon and walked the 7klm. What a great walk, so many people and so many happy faces. When we arrived at the old airport we had never seen so many people, it was hot and dry and very dusty and there were just thousands and thousands of people walking in. We made our way through to find our allocated area, only to find out that it was closed and we couldn't get in!!The boys were in there waiting for us. Out of some sort of miracle I spotted Billy and he went and got Damian. However, after a lot of talking with the police we still couldn't get in!! We were so upset and angry. Around us there were thousands of disappointed people who were unable to get to their allocated area. Many tried to push through, only to be herded back by mounted police. We decided to leave and go into the city to watch it on a big screen.
After making our way back we came across the main road to find it taped off and police everywhere. To our shock and amazement the Pope was on his way and drove straight past us. What a wonderful experience - we caught it on video, but as it is 1am I will work out how to download this later. What a high after such a big low at the airport. We have come home thrilled that we are away from the millions of people, the rain (it stormed late) and we have seen the Pope. The boys are still there we have had word they are fine, they did get wet but of course are now dry and will sleep out until the morning. They are inside the barrier and are safe.
Until tomorrow...

The boys were inside this barrier on the tarmac - we had no hope of getting in even though we had a ticket it had reached capacity.

Madrid

Today we went to Catechesis hosted by Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Canberra - Goulburn. He was fantastic, so energetic and engaging. We then spent the rest of the day at our leisure exploring Madrid. We caught the bus into the city and walked to see the Palace where the Pope sat and celebrated last night. The bus took us past the home of Real Madrid (very exciting for Soccer fans). We then moved on to visit the Cathedral. This took us ages as we had to navigate through the crowd and of course deal with the heat of the day. The day was very exhausting and hot. Many pilgrims were overcome from heat and ambulances worked overtime.  There were protests again. However, we did not see any of it. We have never seen so many police officers.
We walked past the stations of the cross but they were no way like what we had in Australia and because of the number of people and the heat we decided to watch the procession on the television at the uni.
We returned for an early night to save our energy for the 10 km walk to the aiport tomorrow. We expect tomorrow to be as hot today so we need our energy - an early night for a change is essential!

Arrival of the Pope

This morning we had Catechesis with Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Bishop of Boston. It was great to hear from him and he had wonderful insight and thought for our youth. The biggest issue being Individualism and the fact that our youth are withdrawing spending more time on iPods, phones etc. There is a real need to get back to a sense of community. Our Church is of course a Community and one that we should be involved in and cherish.

This afternoon we were amongst the biggest street party we had ever witnessed. The Pope was arriving in Madrid and we were a part of the millions that came together to witness the special occasion. We had never seen so many people, all happy and enthusiastic for what was about to occur. There were no signs of violence or protests, only happy people and the sharing of the most beautiful and special occasion of all.

Madrid

This morning we went to the San Antonio Church and attended Chatechesis by Anthony Fisher (Bishop of Parramatta, Sydney). It was very engaging and was run by the Parramatta Antioch group. We shared in prayer, song and the group raised and asked questions of the Bishop. It was great to see him respond to the youth and show a real interest in their issues.

This was followed by Mass where Laura and Chris took part. They spoke very well and are to be applauded with their efforts. The Church was overflowing with people from many different countries, all wanting to share in the English speaking mass.

Opening Ceremony

This morning we attended a Cultural celebration which was for all Australians. There were roughly 4000 people there from every state in Australia. It was fantastic. The cross and icon were carried in and we celebrated in prayer and music. This included an Aboriginal dance and a speech from Archbishop Pell.

We then took the girls out for lunch and have sung them Happy Birthday in the auditorium, the dining hall and the subway. Many people standing by joined in and it was wonderful to see. Everywhere we go we sing of Australia and of course every nation chants back their own. There is a real sense of friendship and happiness amongst all pilgrims.

The Opening Mass was nothing like we had seen before, we thought Fatima was a large gathering, this was something else again. So many people everywhere from every nation all gathering for the same reason. Amazing.

Last trek to Madrid

This morning we explored Segovia, it was an amazing city so rich in history. This Acueduct was erected in the 1st Century by the Romans. It supplied water to the high-lying part of town. It was built by Granite. Its source was 14kms out of town, the acueduct is underground from there until it reaches the town. It was an amazing engineering feat.

From here we travelled to Avila. This is an amazing walled town and dedicated to St Teresa. She entered the Carmelite order here and began her work. We visited many special places linked to St Teresa. A chapel out of town is also dedicated to St John of the Cross. However, after driving to find it yesterday on our way in we gave up looking for it. Our bus driver and guide could not locate it.

Today was the Feast of the Assumption and we celebrated mass in the morning before our journey began. It was marked as a public holiday in Spain today and there were many celebrations in Avila. Fireworks kept going off in the street as is the custom in many European countries. However, a little unnerving for us as we walked around. It was a beautiful city and we had a taste of what Madrid will be like. We were surrounded by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world making their journey to Madrid as well. In parts it was quite overwhelming for our group to be so crowded. We will have to get used to this!!

Tonight we arrived in Madrid and we are staying in university accommodation. We are all well and looking forward to the girls birthday tomorrow. Opening mass tomorrow night and an Aussie celebration in the morning. Just found out we are attending a Football (Soccer) match on Sunday night (Madrid vs Europe - I think it is a friendly). The boys are very excited!

Travel to Segovia

Today we left Fatima and headed for Segovia. A 600klm trek. On the way we stopped at Salamanca. This was a beautiful city but we didn't have enough time to explore and only had lunch in the square. An amazing square rich in sandstone and beauty.

We then drove on to Segovia which we will explore tomorrow. Tonight we had an early night - 11pm - nice for a change!!!

Fatima

Today we celebrated an International mass in Fatima. It was amazing. Father Peter, Bing and James took part and Bishop Jarrett was also a part of the celebration. Damian carried the Australian flag in through the procession and it was wondeful that we had so many take part in such a beautiful ceremony. It was very hot and it went for about 3 hours. We then had a free afternoon, which we explored both Bascillicas, and the homes of the children that saw the apparition.

What a wonderful day and it was topped off by a beautiful candle light prayer of the rosary and procession of Mary.

The number of people together in one area is an amazing sight. It was wonderful to see the whole square nearly completely filled with people. The local people all walked in for the offertory procession with bags of grain some carrying it on their heads. Communion was well organised with probably 50 priests or more all walking through the crowd with a person holding an unbrella for them for shade. What a sight to witness and be a part of, we are very lucky.

Fatima

Today we traveled from Santiago de Compestella to Fatima. We crossed the border into Portugal and the first stop was Viana do Castelo. This was the most amazing church on top of a hill. It looked out over the coast and the view was sensational. Next stop was Braga where we had lunch - (Plate of the day 5 euros, fish, salad and potatoes - a coke 1.60 and a beer 1.70????) cheap food great quality. Braga was the most beautiful city. We visited the Bom Jesus which was a beautiful Church on top of a hill with a magnificent staircase at the front.

It has been a very long bus ride but glad to be here at Fatima. We celebrated the occasion with a beautiful candle light ceremony in the chapel.

Santiago de Compostela

 

Today we had a walking tour of Santiago de Compostela where we had the opportunity to visit the local markets - we were amazed at the fresh fruit and vegetables and the variety of seafood.  From here we walked the paths of the Camino as they arrived in to the city to reach St James Cathedral. This is an amazing Cathedral and we saw the tomb of St James. We celebrated mass at Midday and there was standing room only. We could not get a seat and sat around a pillar. Fr Woods co celebrated, Deacon James and Bing assisted. This was a wonderful opportunity for them and the mass was in Spanish and parts in Latin. Before the final blessing they lit the incense in the thurble (it was massive) and it was swung side to side the height of the ceiling. What an amazing sight. This was definitely something not to miss.

We have enjoyed the afternoon shopping and strolling the streets. We are finding the lifestyle very different as we do not eat dinner until 8pm and then we go out and listen to music in the streets. It is such a beautiful and lively culture of a  night and the streets do not sleep. There is so much to see - and of course we are blogging at midnight!!!

Fr Michael is continuing to entertain us and made an interesting tour guide for us this morning!!

The Way of St James

 

Today we traveled the way of St James from Leon to Santiago De Compestella. It was very warm today our first day at about 30. We are having a lot of fun trying to speak to the locals - ordering lunch is a very interesting experience. Lucky for us Fr Michael knows some Spanish and we are enjoying the conversations and exchanges taking place. The pilgrims on the way were amazing. They have probably walked for about 4 weeks. Many start in France and make the long journey following the signs and symbols of the shells. It would be a fantastic thing to do. 

This afternoon we had free time and one of our children lost their wallet!!!After frantic searching and placing accounts on hold, our tour guide (Palo) went to the Police station and asked if it had been handed in. I am sure someone is looking after us as the police had had it handed in. Absolutely amazing as there are so many people - I am renewed in the human spirit. 

However, I am sworn to secrecy and you must all try and work out which one of our beautiful children would do such a thing???

Covadonga

Today we visited many places on our way from Santander to Leon. The countryside is amazing and the mountain ranges are the second highest in Europe after Switzerland. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and it is amazing to see such beautiful churches constructed in the mountains. This Church is the Basilica of Nuestra Senora de las Batallas. This was built in the area where Pelayo is buried (He is buried in the Cueva - grotto). He was the first Christian King who defeated the Moors in the battle of Covadonga.

From here we travelled to Oviedo where we had some free time and then on to Leon. Tonight we celebrated a private mass in the Gothic Cathedral. It was an amazing experience. Fr Michael purchased a guitar and we all enjoyed the addition of music to our masses.  It truly is an amazing experience to be in another country. The Church bells rang in every place we visited today - this is truly a beautiful sound to hear.

Leon - Gothic Cathedral

Loyola

 

Today we went to Santander via Loyola where St Ignatius was born. At Loyola we visited his house where he was born and celebrated mass in the chapel where Ignatius contemplated his conversion. This was a magnificent opportunity in such a beautiful chapel and we all cherished the experience. A tour of the St Ignatius Bascillica took place and we awed by the marbel and beautiful interior. 

James has had a wonderful birthday and of course the boys could not be outdone.

Lourdes

 Who's having the most fun???

Lourdes

 

Lourdes was an amazing place. We had mass in the morning celebrated in English and a young girl from India was confirmed. There were people from many parts of the world. The Bascillica was beautiful and was highly decorated and adorned. It had wide paths circling to the sides to represent Mary's stretched out arms encircling everyone. The gold crown on the top was donated from the Irish so if anyone has Irish heritage its quite possible there is a little of you represented in the gold crown. Many families donated gold some even their wedding rings. 

We also visited Bernadette's house, where she was born, the Chachot (old prison) where the family moved to after they became bankrupt. This is when the apparitions began to occur.

We had free time in the afternoon, we all drank and washed our faces in the water and some went in the baths. The grotto on the side where Mary appeared is open to walk through and touch the side and pray. Many lined up for this, some went to the underground Bascillica and learnt how to pray the rosary. It was a beautiful afternoon of lots of learning and finding out about Bernadette.

And of course we had baguettes and shopped for a while!!!

In the evening we attended a candle light procession where we walked through the whole area and prayed the rosary.