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<\/a>I am not sure when we began saying the Rosary together while we were on the bus, but once we began, we said it together on the bus \u00a0each morning that followed. Stefano drove our bus \u00a0north along the east coast of Italy to Lanciano, the site of the first recorded Eucharistic miracle. The following is from our tour flier: ” According to tradition, a monk who had doubts about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist found that when he said the words of consecration at mass, the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood.” Father Kumar was able to celebrate \u00a0a very meaningful mass \u00a0just for us in the room where the \u00a0miracle happened. Donna and Theresa were the readers.<\/p>\nThen we were back on the bus. At our lunch stop, Nick chose a salad of tuna, olives, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella balls. When our children were young, our family vacationed in Rehoboth, Delaware, for a week in the summer. Our favorite \u00a0restaurant \u00a0there was called Nicola Pizza<\/em>. One of its specialties was a Nic-o-boli, which was their word for a calzone, basically a \u00a0hand held, folded, \u00a0completely closed \u00a0slice of pizza \u00a0that is filled with meats, cheeses and sauce. I haven’t had a calzone since then. My calzone in Italy \u00a0did not measure up to the ones I had eaten in Rehoboth.<\/p>\n The payment system at the rest stops is very strange. Sometimes you get your food and pay for it, as we do here, but at other times you order the food, pay for it, and then get it. We had figured it all out by the time we had to leave. After Lanciano, our next stop was Assisi, \u00a0a hill town in central Italy’s Umbria region, and the home town of St. Francis of Assisi. After a life of privilege, Francis had a conversion experience and dedicated himself to God, \u00a0renouncing his wealth. He is the patron saint of animals, merchants, and ecology. He founded the Franciscan Order, whose members \u00a0are committed to a life of poverty, service to the poor, and living in community. Guided by<\/span><\/span>\u00a0values of peace, justice, and compassion, their work focuses on serving the vulnerable and marginalized through various ministries like assisting the homeless, and they emphasize an “incarnational worldview” that sees God in all of creation.<\/p>\n Then we went to the Basilica of Saint Francis, which consists of an upper \u00a0and a \u00a0lower church. The upper church is known for its frescoes by Giotto and Lorenzetti, while the lower church contains the crypt of St. Francis. For dinner that \u00a0night, our first course was \u00a0lasagna, \u00a0followed by a tossed salad, \u00a0and then well done roast beef. Dessert was profiteroles, or as we would say, cream puffs. There was a bar in our hotel that also featured desserts. We shared a cannoli that looked beautiful. The filling, however, was not like any that \u00a0I had ever tasted before, either in the USA or in Sicily.<\/p>\n 10,279 step<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We were impressed by the croissants that were served for breakfast. They were large, flaky, and memorable. I am not sure when we began saying the Rosary together while we were on the bus, but once we began, we said it together on the bus \u00a0each morning that followed. Stefano drove our bus \u00a0north along … Continue reading St. Luke Pilgrimage to Italy, Day 7 \u2014 November 16th, 2025<\/span> <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>One of Francis’ early followers was Clare, \u00a0a noblewoman who renounced her wealth to follow the teachings of Francis, and \u00a0who founded a new order for women that was focused on poverty, in the Franciscan tradition. Both Francis and Clare are extremely renowned saints. We visited the Basilica of Saint Clare, in which the crypt of Saint Clare is kept. Photos were not allowed inside.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Some members of our group were enchanted by Assisi and wished we could stay there longer.<\/p>\n