Today, 28 pilgrims arrived in Roma from all over the United States. Though the flight was long, bodies were tired, and many longed for a hot shower, the women of WINE rallied and immediately hopped on a bus to Assisi...well, after a cappuccino that is.
The bus ride began with a beautiful prayer thanking God for bringing us all together "for such a time as this" and asking for His Spirit to descend upon us as we go forth these next 8 days on a journey to grow closer to our Lord.
We had a beautiful day in Assisi. Exhausted but exhilarated, we walked in the footsteps of St. Clare and St. Francis. As always happens, there are frozen moments of unexpected, but beautiful graces. In our case, we were blessed to witness the wedding of a lovely couple from Australia, and all of Assisi gathered around Andy and Margarita to celebrate their wedding day. Many of the pilgrims, first-timers to Italy—as tired as they were—could not help but express how much beauty the country had to offer.
Our day ended with a lovely dinner, and another one of those impromptu frozen blessings, as two of our pilgrims from Oklahoma wondered off exploring and found an unbelievable upper deck on the hotel were we all gathered, watched the sunset and began singing, giving glory to God!
Check out our pictures from the day here -> WINE & Shrine Day 1