...And a Funeral...

On November 1, we received the sad news of an unexpected death...the "bidello" of Florence and Ashley's school. A "bidello" is a jack-of-all-trades, including janitor, messenger, and building coordinator; Alberto had a habit of not leaving well enough alone...when he entered a class, chances were the contents of every pencil case would be dumped out. Or paper airplanes would go flying. Or some other mischief would occur. A living, breathing, well-intentioned poltergeist might sum him up, and Alberto was well-loved by students and teachers alike.

Accordingly, we attended his funeral the next day. Jeremy and James were altar servers (as usual...they're very diligent), and it was really a lovely and tear-filled Mass. I thought the Mass of San Fortunato was well-attended; the Duomo was PACKED for Alberto's funeral Mass. In fact, we were a sea of tears.

The principal and one of the students each presented a moving eulogy, and then after saluting the coffin, everyone moved out onto the steps of the Duomo. We stood flanking an unmarked aisle...as the coffin was brought out by the pallbearers, everyone burst into applause...and again when the hearse drove at walking pace out of the piazza; many followed in an impromptu procession.

We have now experienced four major Church events (three of which are sacraments) while in Italy: Holy Orders, Confirmation, Matrimony, and now, a funeral.

Love,

Alexandra