St. Francis of Assisi

Today we visited the town of Assisi, which has been the best site for me so far. It was much less populated than Rome which made exploring Assisi much easier. It was so amazing to be walking in the narrow streets between the ancient tall buildings and shops. The locals were very nice and enjoyed us very much. I do have to say though that the Tomb of St. Francis moved me the most. You can feel the emotion of all the people as you descend the steps into his tomb, and as you turn that last corner, you see it, the Tomb of St. Francis. Everyone was silent, some sitting, some walking around, and some praying. I sat down for a while and started to pray. Just thinking about all the history behind St. Francis, the people who had been here before me, and all the history behind Catholicism in Italy in general made me began to appreciate a lot about how important my religion is to me. I soon began to have tears fill my eyes and I began to wonder to myself why I was weeping. The power and emotion filled in that room was very intense, so intense that I even went back later for a 2nd time.

All in all, Assisi was an amazing experience, not to mention the impromptu performance at the cathedral. I liked how we were able to sing for the tourists wandering in and out. I'm sure it made their experience there, and ours, an even more memorable one.

-Jason Whitney