ASSISI (Day 6)

I roomed with Lydia in Assisi and she and I went down to breakfast in the morning and sat with Fr. Ron and some other students :) the food in Rome and especially Assisi at our hotels were always delicious! We were definitely spoiled on this trip but I think we all deserved it since traveling eats up so much of our money that there isn't much left for nice food. In Rome we ate every dinner at the hotel and were on our own for lunch but in Assisi the hotel had us covered for both lunch and dinner during the time we were there, and it was good food! :)
9am we had mass at the Basilica of Santa Chiara which is dedicated to St. Clare of Assisi, follower and close friend of Francis, and contains her remains

After mass, walking tours began of Assisi by Fr. Brad and the TOR sisters. Our group was with Fr. Brad :) We heard an explanation and the history of St. Clare and the church. We saw her relics such as some of her hair (she was known to have gorgeous hair: long, blonde and curly) and her nightgown.

Here's her tomb:

Here's the view of Assisi from Santa Chiara:

There's Fr. Brad giving the tour! :)

We then walked down the hill to San Damiano where St. Clare and her sisters lived.

The church and convent of San Damiano is where St. Clare, founded her Order of the Poor Clares in 1212. She was abbess of the convent and lived here most of her life. She passed away in an upstairs room in 1253. Her body was transferred a few years later to the Basilica di Santa Chiara which is dedicated to her. It was here also that St. Francis wrote the first draft of his celebrated Canticle of the Creatures

After eating lunch at the hotel, everyone met in the Piazza for a pilgrimage walk to the Hermitage of St. Francis. This place was like Assisi's peacefulness taken to the next level. It was absolutely gorgeous sitting on top of this precious little hill and looking down into the valley, and it was so quiet :)

It was about a 45 minute walk uphill. It was definitely a workout but the top was such a reward. Everyone found little spots throughout the Hermitage for quiet contemplation and prayer. Van shuttles were available up and down, but a lot of us walked up and then caught the shuttle back down. Stopped at a few shops on the way back to the hotel, rested a bit in the room, and had dinner. I think the nice thing about Assisi is that being such a small town there's not a ton to see, so unlike the craziness of Rome, we were able to relax much more :)