Italy Day 4: To the Monastery!

I arose on day 4 just a few hours after getting back to the ship (at 2:13am, remember?!) and though still tired, my spirits were high.  Today was the day for our community relations project (aka COMREL); ships often set up a COMREL project during a port visit to foster goodwill with the local community and allow sailors an opportunity to give back (and an alternative to going out and drinking).  Our command Chaplain set up a great opportunity to visit the Abbey of San Vincenzo, a Benedictine Monastery in central Italy.

We left at 8am with about 20 sailors and had a nice drive through the country and into the hills of the Mainarde Mountains.  As we left, Chaps explained some history of the monastery and I explained a little bit about the Benedictines and the monastic life.  J  As we arrived at the monastery, we were met by two American families stationed in Naples who often visit to help the nuns there, and were then welcomed in by Mother Miriam and Mother Agnes and the two other nuns of the monastery.  Much to our surprise, Mother Miriam spoke excellent English, because she is American!  We quickly learned the story.

The Abbey was founded in 703 A.D. by three Beneventan monks, who built the monastery on the ruins of a 5^th century Roman oratory dedicated to the Spanish martyr St. Vincent.  Within a century, it became one of the largest in Europe.  In 881, the Saracens attacked the monastery, burning it to the ground and leaving 900 monks dead—the survivors fled to Capua.  In 914, the community returned to the site and restored the monastery, and in the 12^th century, it was moved brick by brick across the nearby river.  Napoleonic suppression in the 17^th-18^th centuries ceased any further restorations, and in 1942 it was ceded to the Abbey of Montecassino.  In 1990, Mother Miriam and Mother Agnes were invited from the United States to found a community at this site to restore monastic life to this incredibly historic place.

After the warm introduction and history lesson, we got to work!  A few sailors manned the weed-eaters and cleared out a brush area.  Another group assisted with hay bailing; another with the herb garden; a few to help sand down and re-stain the siding to a part of the house.  The weather was incredible; much cooler up in the mountains compared to the coast!  A few of the monastery’s dogs wandered around and served as immediate friends to our sailors.  I ended up sitting down with Mother Miriam and having a wonderful talk with her.  I shared a bit of my story and she shared hers.  She entered the Benedictines at the age of 18 (in the 1950s!), after breaking off an engagement with a fine young man.  Religious life had been in her mind and heart, and she finally had to just make a choice.  She did, and said she has never looked back, and feels freer than she could have ever dreamed.  God is so good to me, to put these events and people in my life!  He certainly knows what He is doing.  And, it is great to have a new friend in Italy!

The day was sadly over too quickly.  Our sailors had a great time and loved the opportunity to serve and experience the nuns and the monastery.  Mother kept thanking us, assuring us that we were now a part of their history.  Beautiful!

If any of you are interested in the Benedictine way of life, this is a place you want to check out!  They also have opportunities for guests to spend a week of retreat, accommodating up to a small family in their guest house.  They will also host longer stays for young women who are discerning their next step in life, by entering into the Benedictine life of prayer and work as a means to aid in discernment.

After getting back to the ship, I was assigned to the shore patrol for the evening.  Having my first chance to explore Naples, I had my last bit of real pizza and enjoyed walking along the waterfront.  After all of the crew was accounted for, we headed back to the ship and got some sleep before getting underway and heading back out to sea the next day!  Ciao, Italia!  Hope to see you again soon.