Siena, Roma, and Venice

Inside the Cathedral of Siena

As time goes on, the Lord continues to pour out his abundance of blessings and love! On March 10th our class took a trip to Siena where we were able to visit some very special places including the

• Basilica of San Domenica: This Church holds an immense amount of grace, and you can't help but walk out of it's doors with peace in your heart.
• Basilica of St. Francis: Here we witnessed a Eucharistic miracle that began in 1730.
• Lunch in the Piazza del Campo: Considered a very historic and midieval square. It was originally established as a marketplace around the 13th century.
• Cathedral of Siena: Formed in the shape of a Latin cross and includes a bell tower and a large dome. In 1339 an addition was meant to be built which would double it's size, but the Black Death halted this project, and the work was never continued.
• Mass at St. Catherine of Siena's house: Near the Church where we had Mass, you could see the room where St. Catherine secluded herself for prayer and meditation. It was so powerful to see the raised level of cement in her room, where she rested her head at night and used the rock as a pillow. St. Catherine's room was one of my favorite places to be in Siena; St. Catherine felt so close!
• Our last stop was visiting a Monastery in the mountains, to join the Norbertines chant Compline.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

The following Friday I went to Mass at St. Peter's. The light in the Basilica was beautiful, and there were rays of cheery sunlight streaming into the windows, brightening up the Church. I was able to go downstairs and pray near the tomb of St. Peter. There were hardly any visitors below the Church, and this was one of the biggest blessings of the day, because I felt like I was able to have some personal prayer time with him!
In the afternoon, I had a picnic with a few friends at the Lay Center. My friend who is staying there, invited us over for vino in the garden. The center is located on a beautiful property, just across the street from the Colosseum.

Statue of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Lay Center in Rome

Such a vivid example of Jesus' agony

That evening, a few of us went out to an Irish pub, and enjoyed sharing in the excitement of the Scottish and Irish rugby fans rooting for their teams, as well as listening to lively Irish karaoke :)!

Waiting for the Metro to take us to Scholars

Wonderful evening spent with friends

The next day, a few of the girls and I went to Venice for the rest of the weekend. Venice was just how everyone describes it; very different from any other city in Italy, and quite magical, especially at night when the city begins to quiet down, and the lights reflect on the Grand Canal.

Venezia in the crisp of night

St. Mark's Cathedral

Strawberries on a gondola ride on the Grand Canal in Venice... does life get any better?