More of God's Blessings: Pope John Paul II, Wonderful Benedictine Monks, and a Marathon!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well. Things are continuing to get more busy and crazy around here, so I apologize for the slower updates. Let me start where I left off…in Poland!



Pope John Paul II's room as a Parish Priest



Poland proved to be probably my favorite trip of all so far. There is so much that this country has to offer, and it is so beautiful! We stayed in the city of Krakow, where Pope John Paul II used to be archbishop for some time. We were able to see many sites relating to him. There was a small museum there which included many of his possessions and gifts that he received during his papacy. The apartment in which he stayed while he was a simple parish priest was also part of the museum, which was really incredible. We saw from the outside the building of his residence while he was archbishop. Just across from this was a church that he often prayed in. It was beautiful to pray in the same place he did …to pray to him and ask his intersession in the same place that he once asked for the intercession of others!

We also saw the great cathedral on top of the hill just outside the city center. This was a VERY beautiful cathedral that I was simply enchanted with. The style and art was so much different than the things I have been seeing in Rome and France, and it really had its own unique beauty and charm. Aside from being enthralled with the art, it was almost surreal to be walking in the same cathedral that Pope John Paul II was so involved with….was the archbishop in! Krakow has a rich history with its many kings, and there was a wonderful castle on the same hill, right next to the cathedral. As a result, there were many royal tombs in the crypt of the cathedral which we able to see as well.

My favorite church in all of Krakow and certainly one of my favorite churches in Europe as a whole was the Church of St. Mary in the city square of Krakow. This beautiful church was a place that John Paul II used to celebrate Mass often.  I got up a little earlier than everyone else one morning and walked to the square, soaking in the fresh morning air, to spend some time alone with John Paul II in this beautiful church. It has been wonderful to get to know him in a whole different way throughout my time in Poland and I know that my relationship with this future saint will continue to grow after being so near to him!

We were able to experience Auschwitz one day as well.  It was a colder and cloudy day, which seemed really fitting for the tour. The whole place seemed cold and heartless…you just knew that many lived were taken here. It was really surreal to be in the place that I have heard talked about so much. The tour was very informative and it showed us many different aspects of life in the camps. There were many different exhibits in the different block houses, some of which contained the possessions of the people who once lived there. It was an experience I will never forget, I’m sure.

The last thing we saw in Poland was the Shrine of Divine Mercy. It was amazing to be in the very church where Jesus appeared to St. Faustina so many years ago, and to see the original image of Divine Mercy that St. Faustina described. After seeing Auschwitz, I couldn’t think of a better place to go than to this shrine…it was such a place of great hope and mercy! “Jesus, I trust in You!”

So all-in-all, Poland was a wonderful trip. I could sense the faithfulness of the people in the city….there were so many people-young people- at daily Mass. This is another reason why I think I found Poland so attractive.  It was exciting to see a faith so alive and thriving!



Some of us girls with Lenny, our 'grandma' here on campus



Last weekend we took a class excursion to some different cities around Italy. We were able to see Norcia (the place where St. Benedict was born), Monte Cassino (the place where he built his great monastery and is now buried), and Assisi (home to the great saint Francis). All of these places were beautiful and very enjoyable. In Norcia we were able to have Mass with the community of Benedictine monks there, and it was one of the most beautiful Masses that I’ve been to in my life! The chant, the incense, the Latin, the reverence, the monk habits, and the intense focus on the Eucharist made the whole thing glorious. I’m reading a book about the Mass that describes it as heaven on earth, and when we were celebrating Mass with these holy monks it was easy to recognize that you were seeing a part of heaven!

Assisi was of course wonderful. Assisi is famous for being a quaint and peaceful little medieval city where Saint Francis is from. It’s certainly one of the precious gems of Italy. We were able to see the place where Sts. Francis and Clair were buried, as well as some other important Franciscan sites. My favorite part was probably a hike in the beautiful morning air up to the hermitage that Francis built.



Enthusiastic and Crazy Fans!



In between the trips, my time in Rome is always eventful as well. Among the many things, there was a runner’s marathon here in Rome and one of my wonderful friends, Jen, ran it along with the director, Katie, and her assistant, Jeremy. So the rest of us got all dressed up and cheered like crazy for them all….I think we were by far the loudest fans there!! It was a sport in itself to try to figure out how to meet them along the run as many times as we could. We studied our metro map and ran all over Rome to cheer them on. We had a blast as a group, and it’s all we talked about for a good week here at the house! So congrats to Jen for running a marathon in Rome…one of her life goals!

My dear sister, Jodi, is coming to Rome tomorrow! I’m excited to show her some of the great sites around the Eternal City and share some of the beauty and loveliness that I’ve experienced here with her. I’m excited for some more quality time with the city and I’m also excited for a break from airports and train stations! ;)

I do have one prayer intention to leave you all with: our main professor here, Dr. Hall, suffered a mini stroke last Sunday in Assisi. He is doing very well now and they don’t think he has any permanent damage or anything, but they are still doing some tests and he’s still in the hospital in a town near Assisi. So if you could all pray for a speedy recovery and return for him, that would be greatly appreciated!

You are all in my prayers, as well! Have a great day!

All of us at Monte Cassino

Adventures in France and Austria






Enjoying France!



Hello everyone! Well it’s been a crazy last few weeks for me, with lots of traveling! It’s been wonderful and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I’m excited to share some of the highlights with you!



Our class trip to France was wonderful! It started off with a day trip to Chartres to see the famous cathedral there. We spent that day just looking at the cathedral and enjoying the town at our own relaxing pace.
We spent the majority of our time in Paris. So of course, we were able to see the Eiffel Tower and enjoy the view of Paris right away. It’s one of the most famous paid attractions in the world and it was kind of surreal to actually be there at first! The overall feel of Paris to me seemed to be “classy”! Unlike the orange and brown colors of the buildings of Rome, the colors of Paris are white and yellow. There were many more skyscrapers and large buildings than there are in Rome, which made it feel more like a big American city. Transportation is much more efficient and faster in Paris also, which made getting around a bit easier than it is in Rome!
While we were in Paris we were being guided around the city by our art teacher, Pascaline. So most of the sites we saw were with her. We saw many important and historic districts and buildings. We of course we were able to spend time at and attend Mass at Notre Dame. I really liked Notre Dame- it was much different than I expected walking up to it, but not less beautiful! Notre Dame was much smaller than the cathedral that we had seen earlier at Chartres, but once I got inside, I realized how huge it really was! Being there really made me feel like I was back in the middle ages.
We also saw the famous Sacred Heart Church and spent lots of time at the Louvre and other museums. The Louvre was probably one of my favorite things in Paris. It’s one of the most famous, if not the most famous, museum in the world and holds many famous art pieces, including the Mona Lisa. For an assignment I was required to give a presentation in the Louvre in front of a famous painting, The Dead Christ in his Shroud.  To be able to present in front of the original work in such a famous and prestigious museum was an awesome experience and it was definitely one of the more exciting assignments that I’ve had in college so far!



The Tomb of St. Therese in Lisieux



We had one free day while we were in Paris, and I spent it going to Lisieux to see the place where St. Therese grew up and lived all of her life. St. Therese is one of my favorite saints, and so it was very special to me to be able to see the places where she lived! We saw the house in which she grew up, the parish church which she attended and spent hours in prayer in, and the convent in which she lived and died. We prayed in front of her tomb and walked the same streets she did in the city. It was such a gift to be able to be there!

The last three days of our France trip were spent in Lourdes. Lourdes is the place in which the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in the 1800s. Our time here was more relaxed, to help us recover from all of our travels. We were able to see the place where St. Bernadette lived, the chapel where she received her First Holy Communion, and the church where she was baptized. We were of course able to spend most of our time at the grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette. Our Lady asked St. Bernadette to dig in the mud during one of her apparitions, and a miraculous spring came forth! To this day, there is a spring there and pilgrims can wash and bathe in the water. There have been many miraculous cures attributed to the water: the lame have walked, the blind have seen, etc. It is a very powerful place to be in. Not only did I wash my hand and face by the little fountains throughout the grotto, but I was actually able to bathe in the waters. There are certain rooms set up for pilgrims to come and bathe, and it was a very powerful experience for me to be able to do it. Even looking at the other women in the room preparing to bath and seeing the great faith that they had was moving and very powerful!

Well we finally made it back to Rome, and spent a short week here with only two days of classes, before we were off again to Austria for the weekend. There were three of us that went to Austria, and we stayed in Vienna. In Vienna we were able to see two of the places where Beethoven lived and where he would have written some of his music. We were able to hear a Mozart concert in one of the halls that Mozart performed in himself! I enjoyed this so much…it was an experience I never thought I’d have. I already loved Mozart and Beethoven, but seeing the sites makes me have an even greater appreciation for their music!

While we were in Austria we also saw an old palace, the opera house, and two beautiful churches. We spent one day out of Vienna…we took a train to the foothills of the Alps and went hiking in them! The views were absolutely amazing! We even stumbled upon a waterfall and drank fresh mountain water from the stream. The weather was perfect for our hike and we felt so alive and near to our Creator!

I’m back in Rome now…we made it back for community night on Sunday, and we’ve been catching up on homework and things since then. A big bunch of us are off to Poland on Thursday for another weekend trip, so we are in the midst of planning our adventures there, too!

I hope everything is going well back at home. I hope you are all having a blessed Lenten season full of many graces! I’ll pray for you during the holy season while I’m here, in the heart of the Church- in Rome!



A few of us with our Art History teacher from Paris, Pascaline.