After mass and photo ops, we ambled back to our bus for our trip to Padua.
Call it coincidence or what, but June 13th happens to be the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, and we were on our way to attend his “fiesta”. Since it was quite a long drive, we watched the movie of St. Anthony during the drive, which kept us really entertained and also we got to know the saint more. We also crossed the 45th parallel along the way. Isn’t that cool?
Padua is a picturesque city with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazzas. As one of the cultural and economic centers in the northeast part of Italy, it is a pilgrimage city where millions of pilgrims come here every year to visit the "Basilica di Sant’Antonio", and where the grave of "Sant’Antonio" is preserved.
By way of introduction, Fernando Martins de Bulhões was born in Lisbon, Portugal. His was a very rich family of the nobility who wanted him to become educated, and they arranged for him to be instructed at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, however, he entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St. Augustine were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits, and under their tutelage, Anthony studied scripture and the Latin classics.
After his ordination to the priesthood, Fernando was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. It was in this role, in 1219, that he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Fernando was strongly attracted to the simple evangelical lifestyle of the Franciscan friars. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Fernando meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans and, inspired by their example, obtained permission from his Augustinian superiors to join the Franciscan Order.
On the return trip to Portugal, his ship was driven by storm upon the coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made his way to Assisi and sought admission into a monastery in Italy, but met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, Italy, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he appears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen. Upon his entry to the Franciscan Order, he took the name “Anthony”.
One day, on the occasion of an ordination, a great many visiting Dominican friars were present, and there was some misunderstanding over who should preach. The Franciscans naturally expected that one of the Dominicans would occupy the pulpit, for they were renowned for their preaching. The Dominicans, on the other hand, had come unprepared, thinking that a Franciscan would be the homilist. In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who had no one among his own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon Anthony, who he suspected was most qualified, and entreated him to speak whatever the Holy Spirit should put into his mouth. Anthony objected but was overruled, and his sermon created a deep impression. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers. At that point, Anthony was commissioned to preach the Gospel throughout the area of Lombardy, in northern Italy. From then on, his skills were used to the utmost by the Church. It was as a preacher that Anthony revealed his supreme gift.
Anthony became ill with dropsy and, in 1231, went to the woodland retreat at Camposampiero with two other friars for a respite. There Anthony lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Anthony died on the way back to Padua on June 13, 1231 at the age of 36.
Various legends surround the death of Anthony. One holds that when he died, the children cried in the streets and that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord. Anthony is buried in the basilica with his tongue in a reliquary. When his body was exhumed 30 years after his death, it was claimed that the tongue glistened and looked as if it was still alive and moist; apparently a further claim was made that this was a sign of his gift of preaching.
Anthony could be said to have become the "quickest" saint in the history of the Catholic Church because he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than one year after his death.
His fame spread through Portuguese evangelization, and he has been known as the most celebrated of the followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the patron saint of Padua, of Italy, and of Lisbon, as well as many other places in Portugal and in the countries of the former Portuguese Empire.
He is especially invoked for the recovery of lost things. Nearly everywhere, St. Anthony is asked to intercede with God for the return of things lost or stolen. Those who feel very familiar with him may pray, “Tony, Tony, turn around. Something’s lost and must be found.” The reason for invoking St. Anthony’s help in finding lost or stolen things is traced back to an incident in his own life. As the story goes, Anthony had a book of psalms that was very important to him. Besides the value of any book before the invention of printing, the Psalter had the notes and comments he had made to use in teaching students in his Franciscan Order.
A novice who had already grown tired of living the religious life decided to depart the community. Besides going AWOL he also took Anthony’s Psalter! Upon realizing his Psalter was missing, Anthony prayed it would be found or returned to him. And after his prayer, the thieving novice was moved to return the Psalter to Anthony and to return to the Order, which accepted him back. Legend has embroidered this story a bit. It has the novice stopped in his flight by a horrible devil, brandishing an ax and threatening to trample him underfoot if he did not immediately return the book. Obviously a devil would hardly command anyone to do something good. But the core of the story would seem to be true. And the stolen book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna.
Likewise, St. Anthony has been pictured by artists and sculptors in all kinds of ways. He is depicted with a book in his hands, with a lily or torch. He has been painted preaching to fish, holding a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament in front of a mule or preaching in the public square or from a nut tree.
But since the 17th century, we most often find the saint shown with the child Jesus in his arm or even with the child standing on a book the saint holds. A story about St. Anthony projects back into the past relating to his visit to the Lord of Chatenauneuf. Anthony was praying far into the night when suddenly the room was filled with light more brilliant than the sun. Jesus then appeared to St. Anthony under the form of a little child. Chatenauneuf, attracted by the brilliant light that filled his house, was drawn to witness the vision but promised to tell no one of it until after St. Anthony’s death.
In Portugal, Italy, France and Spain, St. Anthony is the patron saint of sailors and fishermen. According to some biographers, his statue is sometimes placed in a shrine on the ship’s mast. Moreover, travelers and vacationers also pray to St. Anthony that they may be kept safe. I myself ask for St. Anthony’s intercession all the time and, so far, he has not turned me down.
Anyhow, upon arrival, we were given some free time to check out this city since we had a bit of time before the concelebrated mass in honor of St. Anthony were to commence. However, due to the heat, Marilyn, Grace and I decided to take it easy by people-watching at the park.
At the appointed time, we all walked towards the Basilica of Saint Anthony where we witnessed thousands of devotees attend the concelebrated mass, participated in by Fr. Jerry, which was then followed by a procession in St. Anthony’s honor.
While waiting for the concelebrated mass to begin, I took the opportunity to go around the back of his tomb and touch it. It was so special, not to mention the fact that I was able to take some “stolen” shots (ooops), one of which is shown below.
After attending a very solemn mass, we skipped the procession and instead ambled back to our bus and proceeded to our hotel, Hotel Crowne Plaza, for the night.
The following day, after an early wake-up call and breakfast, our bus took us to the train station for our trip to Venice.
Venice is everything you expect and more. It was my second time to see, taste and experience Venice and I was just as excited as the first time, hoping against hope that I will be able to view it this time from a different perspective as I didn’t appreciate it that much during my previous visit last year. To start with, the weather was perfect – hot and sunny – which really made walking and sightseeing all the more enjoyable. We had a local guide that went with us from Padua to Venice so we will make it to our destination without any hitches.
The city of Venice (Venezia to the Italians) stretches across numerous small islands in a lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. It is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a strip of land called the Lido. The region around Venice is called the Veneto, with a population of about 272,000. Lord Byron called Venice "a fairy city of the heart" and it has earned the nickname La Serenissima, "The Most Serene." Venice actually consists of 117 bodies of land connected by more than 400 bridges over its 150 canals. The Grand Canal is like main street cutting through the center of the city.
Venice is one of Italy's top travel cities and a beautiful, romantic destination with many attractions. It is a unique cityscape of well-worn buildings that seem to float on water and marble steps that descend into lapping waters. Its small, traffic-free streets along the winding canals make for great walking. Positioned at the crossroads of the Byzantine and Roman worlds, Venice acquired a unique heritage of art, architecture, and culture. Today, the hordes of traders and merchants that swarmed Venice have been replaced by tourists, but there is so much to see here that you can still have the "real Venice" all to yourself in the many charming alleys, magnificent churches and palaces, bridges, lively piazzas and interesting shops hiding just off the beaten track.
Upon arrival, we proceeded to St. Geremia Church to visit the tomb of St. Lucy, patroness of sight.
As a backgrounder, Lucy, a virgin and martyr born to noble parents, was from Syracuse in Sicily. In paintings, she is often depicted holding a pair of eyes on a platter. In 303, during the persecutions of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian, she was put to death by sword after refusing to become a prostitute. That was after her tormenters tried to set her on fire.
Like so many of the early martyrs, Lucy had consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped to devote all her worldly goods to the service of the poor. Her mother was not so single-minded, but an occasion offered itself when Lucy could carry out her generous resolutions. The fame of the virgin-martyr Agatha, who had been executed fifty-two years before, was attracting numerous visitors to her relics at Catania, and many miracles had been wrought through her intercession. Lucy’s mother was therefore persuaded to make a pilgrimage to Catania, in the hope of being cured of a hemorrhage, from which she had been suffering for several years. There she was in fact cured, and Lucy, availing herself of the opportunity, persuaded her mother to allow her to distribute a great part of her riches among the poor.
The largess stirred the greed of the unworthy youth to whom Lucy had been unwillingly betrothed, and he denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Sicily. She was first of all condemned to suffer the shame of prostitution; but in the strength of God she stood immovable, so that they could not drag her away to the place of shame. Bundles of wood were then heaped about her and set on fire, and again God saved her. Finally, she met her death by the sword.
After the mass officiated by Fr. Jerry, a different local guide picked us up for a walking tour of the city. But first, we had to take the vaporetto that would take us to St. Mark’s Square. A vaporetto is a water bus that takes both locals and visitors to the places they want and need to go throughout Venice. Because traveling the canals is the easiest way to get around the city, the vaporetto has long been the most efficient and cost-effective mode of transportation, aside from walking. Riding in the front offers the best views, so if you're able to grab the forward seats, go for it. This will give you the opportunity to snap a lot of great pictures along your journey.
I was able to capture the hair of another tourist while taking this shot. Is this photo great or what?
For me, the vaporetto was a novel experience, compared to the gondola which we took a year ago, since it takes you right through the Grand Canal. Also known by Venetians as Canalazzo, the Grand Canal is the major water-traffic corridor sweeping through this amazing city.
Rialto Bridge
The canal is an ancient waterway, lined with buildings - about 170 in all - that were mostly built from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Most were constructed by wealthy Venetian families. It snakes through the city of Venice in a large ‘S’ shape, traveling from the Saint Mark Basin on one end to a lagoon near the Santa Lucia rail station on the other. Believed to follow the course of an ancient river, the Grand Canal measures 3,800 meters (2.36 miles) long and ranges from 30 to 90 meters (about 100-300 feet) wide. In most places, the canal is approximately 5 meters (16 feet) deep.
By this time, the temp has considerably gone up to a boiling heat of 30 degrees (C), quite uncomfortable for my taste. Our first stop was St. Mark’s Square.
As the largest square in the city and the only one given the designation of "piazza" (the others are all referred to as "campi"), St. Mark's Square has always been the location of important government buildings and other facilities central to the goings on in Venice. It is known for the two columns located there that pay homage to two of Venice's patrons - St. Mark and St. Teodoro of Amasea. The columns have long served as the official gateway to the city.
Besides being filled with people and great specimens of architecture, Piazza San Marco is also full of pigeons. Pigeons have long been a problem in the square but only recently did the city pass a law that banned the feeding of these birds. The pigeons have caused much damage to the delicate mosaics on St. Mark's Basilica and to other buildings around the piazza. Several attempts have been made to control the pigeon population but few have been even slightly successful.
We were then “coerced” into watching the glass blowing demo, followed by a sales pitch, which I gallantly ignored. During our walking tour, the guide pointed out places of interest, after which we walked towards the Grand Canal to meet our “supposedly” private launch that would take us back to our bus for our trip to Rome. I said “supposedly” because we were late for our appointment and therefore we had no choice but to wait for the regular launch.
Since I was starving, I bought sandwich for lunch, not forgetting to have a gelato that would go well with it. And we were then on our way to Rome.
It was once said that all roads lead to Rome. Even in the 21st century, that is true. Attempting to write about the city is almost fruitless. It is so enormous and there is such a multitude of things to do in Rome that it must be seen to be fully comprehended. And even then, it will take days to get even a small glimpse into the past of one of the benchmarks of Western Civilization. A symbol of corruption and epic brutality, of great beauty and unmatched opulence, few cities rival Rome in terms of grandeur or of historical import.
Rome tourism is one of the safest bets in the world. People will never tire of viewing crumbling emblems of ancient times, of seeing some of the majestic works of the renaissance, of eating at traditional Italian restaurants, of relaxing in the same gardens as European royalty once did. And these are just a few of the things to do in Rome. To get a good feel for the city, you have to be prepared and efficient - like most Romans, you have to be quick on your feet and full of vibrant energy. Otherwise, this is not the place for you. Even the most casual of the many Rome walking tours available will exhaust you. But its beauty is unrivaled, its scenery astounding and nothing should dissuade you from witnessing the charm and vibrancy of one of the birthplaces of civilization.
As you know, Italy has had a tremendous influence on the culture and religion of the entire Mediterranean region and, by extension, much of the Western world. It has an array of riches to offer the traveler, artistic treasures, historical sites, enchanting landscapes, and of course good food and wine.
Italy can also claim to be a pilgrim’s paradise for not only can it call itself the cradle of Christianity but throughout history it has given birth to a stream of remarkable men and women who have contributed so much to the development of the Church. Today, we can visit any corner of this country and find both sanctuaries and scenery that inspire us spiritually and increase our understanding of our faith.
In particular, Rome was the administrative and spiritual center of an empire that stretched across the entire world, which is why it later became the center of Christianity, the largest religion in the world. For the Christian traveler, however, all this serves only as a backdrop for the enormous influence that this country has had on the history of Christendom. It was in Rome that the tradition of the successors of Peter was established and hence the papacy. Throughout Italy, some great influential Christians have been born, such as Francis of Assisi and, more recently, Padre Pio, who have inspired believers and non-believers alike. And that is exactly the reason why Italy has been included in our pilgrimage.
Anyhow, it was a long drive from Venice to Rome. We watched the movie of St. Peter along the way to keep us entertained. We arrived in Orvieto at 7pm for our dinner at a local restaurant.
Thereafter, we proceeded to Rome and checked in late at night into our hotel, IQ Hotel, which is right at the heart of downtown Roma.
To Be Continued....
amazing travels.... seems like I was travelling with you Chie.... keep on posting..... guia
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gui. Hope to travel with you someday.... somehow..... somewhere.
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