I almost forgot!

Okay folks, I had forgotten to post this until now. About a month ago, during the Congress of Abbots, I was able to attend a private papal audience and saw the Papa himself, Pope Benedict XVI. I was sitting in the way back of the room and the Pope is a smaller man than I had anticipated, so I could just see the top of his little hat that he wears, but I snapped one picture. You can't really see much, but that is the Pope.

That's him in the white, I promise. Best pic I could get.


This all took place at his summer vacation home Castel Gandolfo, just outside of Rome. Not too shabby a place to have a vacanza...

And some Swiss Guards. I can't help it, but I always chuckle at the uniforms. Props to Michelangelo for the design.

In Italian, the Pope is called "Il Papa," but I kept referring to him as "La Papa" by accident. There are two definitive articles in Italian as opposed to just using "the" in English and depending on the article, the word's meaning can change dramatically to denote masculinity (il) and femininity (la). For instance, "La Papa" means something like "The Potato". Whoops, won't happen again. It's "Il Papa"...the Pope, not Potato. That's it for now. Have a good one.

Firenze, Orientamento, e Nuovi Studenti

What's new? After the end of the Abbot's Congress, I returned to working on the grounds around Sant'Anselmo. The mornings here have become quite nice as the weather started cooling down. I still wear shorts when mowing the lawns and working in the garden. People make fun of me. It has always been my opinion that mowing a lawn can be a work of art. I like to think that the residents here enjoy my straight lines in the grass when I mow. Perfetto. Maybe after my completion of service for the BVC I should start my own lawn service. Something to think about. Besides working on the grounds, I am a server for meals now during pranzo (lunch) and cena (dinner). This reminds me of my days as a waiter at Old Chicago, the only exception being that I can't sign people up for the World Beer Tour here. I enjoy it though. Beginning in November sometime, I am probably going to begin working in the portineria (front desk). The reason for waiting until November is that I need to get my Italian up-to-snuff. Crunch time. I am now at the level of a 4-year old, piu o meno.

I was able to travel to Florence or Firenze, in Italian, this past weekend. It was awesome. Here are some pictures:

Piazza at the Cathedral


pondering life


Okay, this was the highlight of the trip. Climbing to the top of il duomo of the cathedral and looking at the entire city.


anche questo


e nuovamente

Prego. It was quite incredible to be up there. After coming back from Florence, the new students began arriving one-by-one. The new academic year kicked off today. It is pretty neat to sit in the refectory during a meal and look around at how diverse a global population there is here. There are so many countries being represented at Sant'Anselmo. You truly see the whole world during a meal. Being able to meet some of them has been really interesting. Along with the new students there comes a new and positive energy. I had the privilege to join many of them for the orientation activities this past week. One highlight of the orientation last week was going to Subiaco where St. Benedict established his first monastery in the mountains some 1500 years ago. I was honored to get the opportunity to go. The natural beauty of Subiaco was phenomenal. See below.

The cave where Benedict lived

Subiaco was definitely a highlight. Other than that, I am still enjoying very much being in Rome. I discover something new about my time here everyday, both internally and externally. I find that vespers with the community in the evening before dinner is the best time for me to slow-down and reflect about the day.

In short, goals for the future: improve my Italian (a lot), continue to meet new people, challenge myself, explore, and that's good enough for now. I will try to update this blog more often than I have been, even if it's something short and quick. In the meantime, be excellent to eachother.