3rd Age Renewal Group

We are in our 7th week of the 3rd age renewal program and time is flying bye so quickly here at Manziana. This Monday we had a session on Mary given by one of the Marist brother, Bro. Giovanni Bigotto, FMS. He gave a witness talk and presentation of Mary in his life. I found his presentation very inspiring and enriching. His presentation was based on Scripture, yet filled with human stories of his life and his relationship with Mary. He was written two books on Mary and has given retreats and presentations to religious sisters and brothers. Tomorrow we are traveling to Assisi to visit the sites of St. Francis and St. Clare. Looking forward to this pilgrimage and to share our time together as brothers of Mary.

Thanksgiving festival

With several Americans here in Manziana for the renewal program we had an American Thanksgiving festival. Our cook Franca cooked a thirty pound turkey with stuffings. It felt like being home in the United States celebrating after our Thanksgiving Mass in the chapel. Bro. George, American Marist brother here at the residence, gave a presentation on the tradition of Thanksgiving to our brothers who reside outside the United States. We missed the punkin pie this year, but were treated with ice cream and wine.

Audience with Pope Benedict

On Wednesday, November 22nd we took the train at 7:27am for Rome to go to the Vatican for Pope Benedict's audience at St. Peter's Basilica. There were 50,000 people in the St. Peter's Square. We were on the staircase near the Pope. He arrived at 10:30am with lots of cheers and applause. After greeting the people from his Pope-mobile, he sat on his papal chair under a canopy. There were prayers and reading from the Epistle of St. Paul in various languages. Then Pope Benedict addressed the people in Spanish, German, English and Italian commenting on St. Paul's message of meeting Christ. It rained during the ceremony and most of the crowd remained for his Holiness blessings.

Marianist Family Founders

During our visit to Bordeaux we had an opportunity to visit several historical and religious sites connected with the Marianist family. Besides Fr. William Chaminade (1761-1850), there were two women who collaborated with him in establishing the foundations of the Marianist family. Marie Therese de Lamourous (1754-1836), foundress of the La Misericorde and Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon (1789-1828), foundress of the Daughters of Mary; both women were very instrumental in early days of the foundations of the Marianist family. We had an opportunity to visit Le Pian in Medoc where Marie Therese is buried in the chapel near her hermitage. We also visited Agen, the foundation home for the Marianist sisters. Another highlight of our visit was an opportunity to visit the birth place of Fr. Chaminade in Perigueux.

Pilgrimage to Saragossa

We went to visit the shrine of Nuestra Senora del Pilar after spending two days in Bordeaux. We took the train to Saragossa, Spain and were met at the train station by two of the brothers from the novitiate and provincialate communities. After the main meal we took the tram to the Plaza of Peace and walked to the Plaza of the Pillar where the Basilica of St. James is located. We celebrated Mass at the chapel of the Pillar; this is the shrine where Fr. Chaminade spent many hours of prayer when he was exiled from Bordeaux for three years (1797-1800). He received his inspiration to found the Marianist family under the protection and patronage of Mary. The next day after the main meal we left for Bordeaux to continue our pilgrimage in the surrounding areas of the city.

Marianist Pilgrimage

We began our Marianist pilgrimage on Tuesday, November 7th when we left Rome for Bordeaux, France. We flew to Lyon, then to Bordeaux where we were met by Fr. Robert Witwicki who resides at the Madelenine in Bordeaux. The five of us were greeted by the community and met Fr. Bernard Vial who introduced the members of the Madeleine community. They treated us to a great French meal after a presentation by several members of the community. We introduced ourselves and our background along with our ministries. After the meal Fr. Witwicki showed us around the city of Bordeaux where Fr. Chaminade first resided when he came to Bordeaux in 1801. In 1804 Archbishop d'Aviau made the Madeleine available to Fr. Chaminade. Fr. Chaminade used only the chapel for the meetings and gatherings of the Sodality. However, in 1809 the Sodality was suppressed by Napoleon as a result of his excommunication by the Church. The return of the Bourbon Monarchy in 1814 permitted a new development. Fr. Chaminade was able to rent the building which gave him two more rooms on the ground flooer, the chapel of the sisters, and upstairs where a large room which still exists today. The apostolate of the Sodality was reactivated and thrived in the city especially the State from which came the Society of Mary in 1817. We visited the Basilica of Saninte Eulalie, which was the parish closest to the Madeleine, the Cathedral of Bordeaux and surrounding areas of the Madeleine. Later that evening we celebrated Eucharist in Fr. Chaminade's room; it was a blessing to be there and to give thanks for the gift of Chaminade to the Church. We visited the tomb of Fr. Chaminade at the La Chartreuse Cemetery in Bordeaux. Fr. Chaminade was beatified in Rome on September 3, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

Marist General Administration

Today we visited the Marist General Administration in Rome in the area of EUR for Mass, social, and dinner. We met the Superior General of the Marist, Bro. Sean Sammon, FMS who is from the United States province. He greeted all of us Marist and Marianist who are in this 3rd age program. After Mass Sean explained the symbols of the Marist chapel and later on during the social gave each one of us a picture frame with article of our Marianist and Marist Rule of Life. The quote from the Marianist reflect Mary's "warmth of welcome" which is significant to both our Societies. The Marist and Marianist order have so much in common. The founder of the Marist is Fr. Champagnat and the Marianist founder is Fr. Chaminade; both Society of Mary were founded in France; Marist in La Valla and Marianist in Bordeaux in 1817. All of us enjoyed spending time with each other and sharing our common bonds as brothers. Sean mentioned to us to continue to have faith which will guide our journeys, hope which will encourage us in our life and mission, and love for each other and the Gospel of Jesus Christ which will sustain us in our lives. We will be leaving on Tuesday for our pilgrimage to our places of origin in France. This will be a great time to renew our charism and deepen our love for Mary and her mission.

Autumn in Manziana

Today is the feast of All Saint's Day. We celebrated this feast with Mass this morning followed by stories of the Marist sisters; tomorrow we will have the Marist and Marianist stories. Fr. Aloise from Germany will be giving the preentation on the Marist and Bro. Tim Philips from Rome will be presenting the Marianist story. Weather is getting cooler in the mornings and evenings; sweaters and jackets are out of the closet these days too. Many of the brothers take walks around the town of Manziana and surrounding areas especially in the wooded areas of Manziana. The town closes down in the afternoon from 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Everyone is at home for the main meal and a siesta after the main meal. It rained to day for the first time in several weeks. We have had gorgeous weather during the month of October; what a blessings to be here in the fall season. Last week we had sessions on 3rd age spirituality and on Monday and Tuesday sessions on The Kingdom of God; presentations were given by Fr. John Fuellenbach from the Gregorian University in Rome. Fr. John is a theologian and it was wonderful to listen to his presentations challenging us to continue to be witnesses of the Good News of salvation.