The Servant Sisters in Brignano, Italy went on a pilgrimage with a small group of girls to visit Sotto il Monte on Saturday, January 7th. The name of the town might not mean anything to most of us, but it is significant for being the birthplace of Pope John XXIII.
We came up with the idea a few days before, while eating dinner on December 27th to be precise. We had wanted to get to know the girls aged 18 and up that we had seen around sometimes in the parochial youth activities and at mass. Only a few words had passed between us, though we had even attended a youth group meeting which these girls had attended as well, but we had not spent a lot of time with them, which is not really surprising since we arrived here in this town just two months beforehand. So we decided to invite them to dinner, seeing as it was a time that worked well for all of us. It was to be a unique dinner because we had decided that the girls could come beforehand and make the first course – Italian, of course – and we would prepare the second dish – Spanish, of course.
So that is what we did: 15 girls came and we ate yummy Italian pasta and – what else? – a traditional Spanish Omelet. Obviously though the food was not the most important, but the time we spent together, the family environment and the conversations we had. We talked about a whole range of subjects, about our life experiences, how the Servant Sisters started, and the girls told us about what they did. We gave each one a leaflet with a quote and a protector saint for the new year, which they had to look up more about later on since a lot of them did not know much about their saint, to whom they should pray and entrust themselves. Yet in order to receive their saint for the year, they had to remember a specific grace that they had received during the year 2011, which was drawing to a close. A lot of good topics came to light. We had a nice time and everyone went home happy. We practically had to kick them out of the house because it did not seem like any of them wanted to leave. But before they left, we suggested going on a pilgrimage during one of the days that they had free during Christmas vacation, since they know the area better than we do and what there is to do.
No more said than done. On Saturday, January 7th, a small group of us – eight girls and four Servant Sisters – headed off on our trip. Some of the girls who had come to dinner were not able to make it because on Monday they had a test and – as students often do – they had to cram at the last minute. We met at 8:30 in the morning at our house to start the day off with a short time of prayer and to listen to points of meditation given by Sr. Isabel. And then – we were off! We left for the abovementioned town, where the birthplace of Pope John XXIII is still intact. Nearby, the PIME (Pontifical Institute for the Foreign Missions) Minor Seminary built by John XIII is still preserved. Right now it is not used as a seminary, but the house still belongs to PIME. The Superior of the house explained to us a little bit about the house and the most important things to see. Later we visited the house where John XII stayed when he returned to his town after he had been made Bishop and Cardinal, and where they still have many of his things. The religious that take care of the house they explained to us a few stories from the life of this great Pope, emphasizing his profound simplicity and humility, how humane he was and his sense of humor, his great vision for the Church and his goodness. We climbed to the top of the mountain (which is where the town gets its name, ¨At the Bottom of the Mountain¨); we were tired at the end, but it was well worth the effort in order to see the magnificent view and landscape from the mountain top. In addition, the Lord had granted us a beautiful day, with radiant sunshine, which is not too common around here since it`s normally pretty cloudy out.
We headed back home. Since some of the girls supposedly had to get back, we had decided to make a ¨mini-pilgrimage¨ in the morning, instead of all day long, and then whoever was able to could stay for lunch afterwards. In the end, all of them ended up staying, so we quickly made some pasta – as they always have here in Italy – and we continued on our way. There was a really nice environment among all of the girls and they all got along well, as we chatted, ate, laughed, and sang (singing songs in both Italian and Spanish). The girls were happy at the end of the day and were excited about doing more with us. The girls were surprised that they were all able to get along so well since they were all different ages, from 18 to 30 years old. And also they liked how by doing normal and simple things, without doing anything extraordinary, they were able to create a good environment among them and to have a really good time as well. We hope that this is truly the start of a series of activities and meetings with this small group of girls, along with others as well who perhaps are not part of the youth group or the parish, but who could come along anyway as well.
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