Assisi Retreat

My roommate Maggie and I at St. Francis Basilica 

Retreats always seem to come at the perfect time and my retreat to Assisi hold true to this. When my parents left, I went on a retreat to Assisi with 15 other students and Father Russ, the Jesuit priest at GIF. Assisi is a small town a few hours away from Florence where St. Francis and St. Clare lived. The retreat was designed as more of a self-reflective and peaceful experience rather than a typical retreat with talks and small groups. Father Russ gave us booklets that would guide us in prayer and reflection with the help of Francis and Clare. We stayed in guesthouse that used to be a monastery. 

Watching the sunset over St. Francis Basilica 

The structure of the retreat was very free, as Fr. Russ would say every few minutes, “Just get lost, wander and be at peace with Francis and Clare.” His words could not more accurately describe the weekend. We spent each morning having mass together as a group, the first day in the tomb of St. Francis, the second day in the Porziuncola chapel, and the third day in a convent chapel. The rest of the day was ours free to relax. The town of Assisi is small enough that you can walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes. It’s quiet and peaceful and different from anywhere I have been. There was something different about Assisi. You can truly feel St. Francis and St. Clare’s presence. 

Picnic overlooking the city

It is one of the holiest places I have ever been and having some alone time to reflect on these past few months and simply just be was exactly what I needed. Living abroad is an absolutely incredible experience, however it is not always easy. Between being homesick, traveling almost every weekend, missing my Gonzaga world, going to school, and trying to make new friends while keeping in touch with friends back home, it’s exhausting and I have never felt more busy in my life. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to travel and live in Florence, and having this weekend to myself in Assisi was the best way to bring a little balance and focus back into my life.

Candle light rosary procession 

Aside from having relaxing alone time, my favorite part was having lunch with a few of the other students on the retreat. We took a small picnic of cheese, crackers, cookies, and chips to the fortress at the top of the city. We sat overlooking the entire city. The fog was so thick that it looked like we were above the clouds, making it feel like we were in a city in heaven. That is truly what Assisi feels like, a city in heaven. Our beautiful picnic was short-lived when 20 minutes in we noticed extremely large ants crawling all around and on us. We all jumped up and went running down the hill. We also went to a candle-light rosary procession on 

Saturday night. It was beautiful to hear it all in Italian and to walk around the piazza in front on the church with candles and italian music. 

It was a beautiful weekend and I definitely will be going back to Assisi before I leave Italy.

"While you are procliaming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart." -St. Francis of Assisi