Beata Speranza!

I'm way behind on posting about this because of one thing and another...but May 31 was the beatification of Madre Speranza! The beatification took place at Collevalenza, a small town a few kilometers away from Todi (it's far: 6 km and 2 villages away). Collevalenza is the site of Madre Speranza's convent and a major shrine devoted to the healing waters of the area, and was the obvious place for her beatification Mass.

Never one to miss this sort of thing, I signed up to sing in the choir...assigned seating, hurray! Of course, there were rehearsals and so on, but no problem with that (except the long commute).

Maria Pia, one of my choir buddies

Finally, the day arrived! It dawned cloudy, and didn't get much better. We were expected to be there at 8 for an 11:00 start (using the obligatory shuttle bus from Todi, since the town was closed to traffic). After the usual jockeying for seats and changes in seating protocol (sopranos here! No, wait, over there!), we were finally in position. At 8:30. We sat. And milled around. And sat. And milled around. Finally, at around 10, some fellow members of the Duomo choir decided to go off and get some coffee, so of course I joined them.

A small part of the crowd

The town was PACKED!

The altar. I had a front-row seat, but off to the side

When the Mass finally began, there were sufficient pomp and circumstance to suit any craving, and surfeit many.

I couldn't resist the hat.

This Italian was more worried about rain than
his appearance

The really unfortunate thing was that it was all outside...normally that would be an excellent choice, but with arctic blasts and on-again off-again rain (and I mean rain, not sprinkles, of which there were also lavish helpings), I started to feel like an emperor penguin. A particularly miserable emperor penguin.

People came from all over
the world, and flew
their flags proudly!

Finished!

Nope, just kidding. Time for about 4 people too many to give their memories of Madre Speranza.

And, we're off! Everyone to the shuttle!

From being a penguin to being a sardine, and then home, ravenous.

The town banners are all hand-stitched,
and who knows how old!

Another banner to show detail...

It really was a lovely ceremony though, and I don't suppose many in the world get to attend a beatification, let alone sing in one!

Love,

Alexandra

It cleared up a bit...but not much!

The countryside as I waited for the shuttle