Seven days until we're on the plane to Rome! I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'm looking forward to a few things. The first thing is their gelato. Gelato is Italian ice cream and it's really good! My Dad said his favorite is strawberry, so I want to try it. The next thing is the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii is a Roman town that existed long ago. One day Mount Vesuvius, a volcano, erupted. The town had no warning so many people died, frozen like statues in ash. Archeologists have discovered the ruins. I have read lots about it and I really want to go. Now is my chance! That is all for now, but I am sure I will be looking forward to more when I get there!
-Elizabeth
Monday, August 31, 2009
Looking Forward
What am I looking forward to in Rome? Of course, I want to see all the famous sites like the Vatican and the Pantheon. However, I really just want to experience everyday living in Rome.
I have been studying Italian with the computer all summer. I've learned a lot. Now I want to go use it. I want to take Paul, Elizabeth, and Grace to the outdoor market and see if I can communicate with anyone. I want to try to find some Italian children in the neighborhood and help the kids make some friends. I want them to feel as comfortable as they are with their South Bend friends. I can't believe this is only a little more than a week away. I'm getting excited now!
-Terri
I have been studying Italian with the computer all summer. I've learned a lot. Now I want to go use it. I want to take Paul, Elizabeth, and Grace to the outdoor market and see if I can communicate with anyone. I want to try to find some Italian children in the neighborhood and help the kids make some friends. I want them to feel as comfortable as they are with their South Bend friends. I can't believe this is only a little more than a week away. I'm getting excited now!
-Terri
Friday, August 21, 2009
St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul, Minnesota
We went to mass at St. Paul's Cathedral on Sunday 8/9/09. There were more frills than we are used to at Holy Cross - an impressive pipe organ and incense too! After mass we walked around a bit. We found the statues of the 4 evangelists in niches in the piers of the crossing of the church, under the dome. St. Mark is represented by the lion, Luke the ox, John the eagle and Matthew the angel.
Behind the altar were the chapels of the nations, representing the different nationalities of people who helped build the church. There were bronze screens that separated this area (the ambulatory) from the sanctuary (where the altar was). The bronze screens had angels and saints set into them as well as scenes from the life of St. Paul. Magnificent!
We walked around to a side chapel dedicated to St. Peter. (We found a key in his hand.) While we were talking to the kids about it, a parishioner approached us. He pointed out the Latin inscription carved in the frieze of the chapel. He told Paul and Elizabeth that this was the same inscription that is in St. Pater's Basilica in Rome, only in St. Peter's the letters are 6 feet tall! He was astonished when we told him we were heading for Rome in a few weeks!
Mike, the parishioner, introduced himself and then showed us something else unique about the cathedral. He explained that the architect was Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, a Frenchman. Mike took us back to the chapel of St. Therese of Lisieux and showed us a stone that Masqueray had sent away for and placed in the wall of this chapel. It was a stone from the cell where Joan of Arc was imprisoned before she was killed. Wow! I guess the kids and I need to do a little research on Joan of Arc now!
We also chatted with a nun from the Little Sisters of the Poor. (There was a second collection during mass.) Their founder, Blessed Jeanne Jugan, will be canonized (become an official saint) on October 11, 2009 in St. Peter's in Rome! Maybe we can go! How many connections we made that morning!
Behind the altar were the chapels of the nations, representing the different nationalities of people who helped build the church. There were bronze screens that separated this area (the ambulatory) from the sanctuary (where the altar was). The bronze screens had angels and saints set into them as well as scenes from the life of St. Paul. Magnificent!
We walked around to a side chapel dedicated to St. Peter. (We found a key in his hand.) While we were talking to the kids about it, a parishioner approached us. He pointed out the Latin inscription carved in the frieze of the chapel. He told Paul and Elizabeth that this was the same inscription that is in St. Pater's Basilica in Rome, only in St. Peter's the letters are 6 feet tall! He was astonished when we told him we were heading for Rome in a few weeks!
Mike, the parishioner, introduced himself and then showed us something else unique about the cathedral. He explained that the architect was Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, a Frenchman. Mike took us back to the chapel of St. Therese of Lisieux and showed us a stone that Masqueray had sent away for and placed in the wall of this chapel. It was a stone from the cell where Joan of Arc was imprisoned before she was killed. Wow! I guess the kids and I need to do a little research on Joan of Arc now!
We also chatted with a nun from the Little Sisters of the Poor. (There was a second collection during mass.) Their founder, Blessed Jeanne Jugan, will be canonized (become an official saint) on October 11, 2009 in St. Peter's in Rome! Maybe we can go! How many connections we made that morning!
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