June 30

After the robbery, we had to buy ourselves clothes at a cheap store. Then we went to a grocery store to buy toiletry items. After showering, we celebrated mass at the convent chapel. After dinner, we all went to bed truly poor!

Early this morning, or went to St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate Mass. This is the sacristy.

Father Terry and I sat on a bench and prayed Morning Prayer with our phones. The thieves had stolen our Breviaries.

We celebrated mass in the chapel of the patron saints of Europe, Cyril and Methodius. Today is the feast day of the first martyrs of Rome. Both the feast and the assigned readings made for a very emotional Mass together. No one can rob us of the graces of this Pilgrimage, even the most vicious of thieves. Like the first martyrs of Rome, we are called to be witnesses of God's love in a world that is tempted to become bitter and angry when life deals unjust blows.

Three sisters from the Philippines joined us for Mass.

After Mass, we took a brief tour around the Basilica. Giancarlo, Bill, and Tony were much happier today.

We said a prayer at the tomb of St. Pius X, where his body is buried under this Altar.

Bill, Evonne, and Marielle were enjoying their first visit to the Basilica.

We took the metro to the American Embassy, where we waited in line behind all the other Americans who had fallen victim to thieves.  There was a group of forty kids who had all of their belongings stolen from their locked bus yesterday. Although it took 2 1/2 hours, the process went more smoothly than we had imagined. We are now enjoying lunch, and will regroup to tour Rome, hoping that no more disasters will occur before coming home. 

As you can see, we are in much better moods today. This group is learning to recover quickly.

After lunch, we returned to the embassy, where we had to wait for another hour for our passports to be printed. We jumped into two taxis, and sped to the Vatican Museum.

There we met Liz Lev, a very good friend of Paolo's. She is the daughter of Mariy Ann Glendon, the former ambassador of United States to the Vatican. She gave us a fabulous tour of the Vatican Museum, with a special emphasis on Michelangelo.

She helped us understand the cultural situation of Michelangelo, and everything that led to his sculpture and painting. That also included the design of the dome which he planned for St. Peter's Basilica in his last years. We finally ended our tour with the Sistine Chapel, where there were very few people.

She took us to the doors of St. Peter's Basilica, or we could see the setting sun illuminating the city.

She gave a wonderful explanation of the Pieta, and led us to the altar where St. John XXIII is buried.

Pilgrims have venerated the feet of the statue of St. Peter for so many centuries, that the toes are worn off.

We left the Piazza surrounded by the columns designed by Bernini, had a drink with Liz, and went with Paolo to have a wonderful supper with his friends. We have experienced wonderful hospitality and kindness from people who have looked us in the face. We have also experienced terrible suffering in the darkness of those we have never seen. It seems that the Lord is teaching us to travel more lightly.

Stage 19, June 29

We got up early, loaded the van with our luggage, prayed morning prayer, and ate breakfast of bread and coffee. Bill Corbett looked like Purdue Pete when he finished fixing his bike.

The 40 mile ride into Rome was relatively easy. This field of sunflowers was beautiful.

It is impossible to describe our feelings as we rode into St. Peter's Square. On the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the Square was crowded with people. The Pope was celebrating Mass inside Saint Peter's Basilica, and he was at the Sanctus when we arrived. The crowd was following the Mass on the monitors set around the Square. Here are the five of us who made the entire Pillgrimage from Canterbury to Rome.

Here are Paolo and Giancarlo, father and son.

The Schooler family is very happy.

So is the Corbett family.

The pastor and parochial vicar of St. Pius Parish in Granger do not usually spend Sundays here.

At noon, Pope Francis appeared on the balcony and led the assembled crowd in praying the Angelus.  He made some comments about Saint Peter and Saint Paul. He gave us his blessing. He really is in this window! The zoom on this phone is not so good.

After the Angelus, we walked our bikes to the Convent where we are staying. Janet had parked the van in the appropriate place. When Paolo reached it, he found that the window was broken and absolutely everything was stolen. All of us have lost everything, clothing, computers, passports, everything! Paolo and Janet filed a police report. We learned how to do that in Lucca! The end of our pilgrimage went from ecstasy to agony. We are now in the process of trying to figure out what to do.

Stage 18, June 28

After Morning Prayer, Paolo ferried all the bikes with Bill, Giancarlo, and Father Terry to Radicofani. Then he returned to get the luggage and the rest of us. The ride on the gravel road was bumpy but beautiful.

We arrived at the church, where our bikes were assembled and ready for riding. We met the parish priest again, and he was very helpful in finding some place for us to eat breakfast, since breakfast was not served at the Agriturismo.

After breakfast, we enjoyed a long descent from Radicofani and continued riding through the volcanic area of this part of Italy.

Our first big climb came when we went up the volcano which surrounds Lago di Balseno.

We stopped for a break at Lago di Bolsena, where we refilled our water bottles to prepare ourselves for the next climb to Montefiascone. 

After a long climb, we finally arrived at Montefiascone for a lunch break.

There had been at one time a papal court established in this beautiful town. We went through the city walls and found a very nice restaurant in the center of the city. The Square was beautiful.

Unfortunately, we got the slowest waiter and cooks in all of Italy. It took us two hours to order and eat lunch. Although the food was very good, we did not need that much time sitting around.

After lunch, we enjoyed another wonderful descent, until we came to the next volcano. We endured a very long climb of 10 miles. Finally, we arrived at the top and biked around the rim of the volcano surrounding Lago di Vico, another beautiful volcanic lake, and got lost several times. After a very long day of riding 76 miles and climbing 5500 feet, we finally arrived at the monastery where we were staying. The monastery was Benedictine, Dedicated to St. Vincent the Martyr. After dinner, we celebrated Mass, prayed evening prayer, and prepared ourselves for tomorrow's ride into Rome.

Bill Corbett's bicycle was having difficulties in the rear wheel. The master mechanics were working on it.

It is hard to believe that we have come this far, almost 1200 miles. We are only 40 miles from Rome. We plan to get up early tomorrow morning, so that we will arrive in Rome in time to pray the Angelus at noon with Pope Francis. Next to Christmas and Easter, tomorrow is the most important feast day in Rome. It is the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. The pope will celebrate Mass in the Basilica of Saint Peter and present the Pallia to the new Archbishops. We will join the crowds in the Piazza, with our distinctive outfits, and smelling really bad!

Stage 17, June 27

After breakfast and Morning Prayer, we cleaned the bikes, which were dirty from yesterday's rain. At least we had bikes to clean! Our stolen bikes are probably being ridden by some dirtbag in Albania somewhere.

With clean bikes, we were ready to leave Siena and head through Tuscany.

Tuscany is stunning and breath taking. It is also very hilly, climbing 6,000 feet in 60 miles.

We stopped in San Quirico for lunch.

There we met a pilgrim who had walked from the Netherlands to Rome and was walking back home. Even better, his name was William!

After lunch, we rode through beautiful Tuscany toward Radicofani, which is just behind Bill in this picture.

We rode up to Radicofani, where we visited the Church of Saint Peter, built by the Knights Templar with perfect acoustics.

Inside, we thanked God for a safe trip and sang the Salve Regina.

Because the gravel road was too dangerous, Paolo had to ferry our bikes and us the three miles down to our Agriturismo.

It was not only remote, but also set in a beautiful surrounding, with a swimming pool, which cooled us off.

Janet finally took a break after all her hard work.

After Mass on this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we jammed ourselves into the van, enjoyed a fabulous dinner in Radicofani, prayed Evening Prayer, and had no trouble sleeping!

Stage 16, June 26

We had a very simple breakfast in the monastery, and Fr. Terry began putting his bicycle together.  He can thank British Air for having a bike!

As Marielle marveled at the beauty of the countryside from our window, Paolo drove Bill, Tony, myself, and Father Terry's bike case to Florence.

Paolo took us to Nencini Sport. There we looked at bicycles, while he emailed Fr. Terry's bicycle case to Rome. The people in this bike store of all bike stores were great. They told us that there have been many incidents of bicycles being stolen. I bought a Scott bicycle for €1400, which Bill assured me was a good deal. Bill bought a Specialzed bike which was used, and Tony bought a used Trek bicycle. The prices were reasonable, and the service great.

Although Bill spoke very little Italian, he jumped in and spoke bicycle maintenance and helped the workers put the bikes together. Being in this wonderful bicycle shop helped salve the pain of having our bicycles stolen.

We returned to the monastery, and set out at 2 o'clock. This late start and losing precious time in Siena can be attributed to the thieves. It was great to be riding again, even though we rode in the rain. Riding through the Tuscan countryside was fabulous, and it soon stopped raining. I had another flat tire, and we did not get to our destination outside of Siena until 5:30.

After showering and celebrating Mass, we hopped into the van and went into Siena, which, in my opinion, is the prettiest town in Italy.

We emerged from a very narrow street to encounter the piazza, which is stunning. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, watching the sunset, promising more sun in the next two days. Some of Paolo's friends joined us at the end of the meal.

After returning to the Piazza, we enjoyed gelato and went past the cathedral.

Today ended as well as yesterday ended badly. After evening prayer, we got some rest. Although we did not have time to visit the shrines of Saint Bernadine, who promoted the Holy Name of Jesus, or Saint Catherine, a Doctor of the Church, we got a taste of Siena, as the city was preparing for the July horse race (the Palio) in the piazza.