St Dominic is the founder of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, and the current Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, is a member of this order. St Dominic lived at the same time as St Francis of Assisi. When St Dominic and his monks were preaching in an area where heresy had taken hold, Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to him and gave him a very effective strategy, ‘preach my Rosary’. The altarpiece behind the altar shows in the main panel an image of the adoration of the Magi. The clearest part is Mary holding the child Jesus, and an elderly man kneeling in front of them. Underneath that is a smaller rectangular image of the Last Supper. It is this church that the highly decorated sarcophagus and body of St Dominic are located. What you can’t see from these photos are the various side altars and the artworks depicting many Dominican saints. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd 24 July 2023, 6.55pm Italy | 25 July 2023, 2.55am Sydney
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At Ravenna we visited two places Sant’Apollinaire Nuovo and San Vitale. Sant’Apollinaire Nuovo was first. A WOW moment upon entering the Basilica of Sant’Apollinaire Nuovo in Ravenna. This church was built in the 6th century, and is of recognisable basilica style, with a high rectangular nave, and less high side naves separated by columns, with a semi-circular apse. The long mosaic you can see in the photo shows a procession of virgins, on the opposite side is a long mosaic with a procession of martyrs. St Apollinaris himself was the first bishop of Ravenna, and a martyr. He is thought to have been a disciple of St Peter; when St Peter lived at Antioch. San Vitale was next. We had a truly breathtaking tour of the Basilica of San Vitale. I did find St Vitale’s well, which is the reason for the location of this magnificent church. St Vitale is an early Christian martyr who was a soldier. After first being tortured, he was thrown into this well, and then buried alive. The primary figure in this mosaic is Empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian. She is shown accompanied by her attendants making an offering to the two priests. From the fascinating interplay of gold and patterned colour in these mosaics the artist Gustav Klimt drew inspiration. From here the coach took us to Bologna. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd 24 July 2023, 6.49pm Italy | 25 July 2023, 2.49am Sydney Reflecting upon Padua For the 2nd half of our day (23 July) in the Veneto region, we returned to Padova (Padua) to visit and pray in the Basilica of St Anthony. St Anthony is more than just the stereotype of: Patron of lost car keys. He is the Patron of all things and people who are lost. e.g., Lost faith, lost hope, family members who have fallen away from the faith, etc. I can confirm that I did place my hand upon the coffin of St Anthony; saying a 'Thank You' on behalf of all those in my family, in my parish, and one former parish sacristan in particular. After the Basilica, we then went by foot to the Scrovegni Chapel, stopping for a moment of prayer inside the next-door Church of the Eremitani (the Church of the Hermits), a former–Augustinian church from the 13th century. It is still a – somewhat – active church. Sadly there are so few mass goers due to everyone in Padova going to St Anthony's, that it is used more for concert recitals than for religious services. However, the Blessed Sacrament is still reposed there upon the high altar. (Yes, that does look very much like our bishop, sans cap, kneeling in the foreground.) Finally we made our way into the Scrovegni Chapel after having been dehumidified in the external Glass Waiting Room. I won't beat around the bush, I wasn't especially "wowed" by the Chapel. In it and Giotto's defense, I will say that trying to soak in the surroundings whilst listening to our wonderful tour guide be effusive over the artwork was, for me, a no-goal. To be fair, it was late in the afternoon, the light quality was low, and my adrenalin tank was near empty. The conservation–enforced 15 minute viewing time within the Chapel, while possible enough for the average visitor, was not enough for this little artist to fully slow down and give both Giotto and his disciples’ work the attention and openness of heart and mind that they truly deserve. St Anthony, help us to find our pilgrim hearts and minds, help us to experience what we are meant to in our God–caused journey. Amen. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd 24 July 2023 9:18am, Italy | 5.18pm Sydney When Anthony met Anthony The chap with the blue cap is Bishop Anthony Randazzo, bishop of Broken Bay diocese. In front of him is the façade of the basilica of St Anthony in Padua, where the body of St Anthony resides. This is the St Anthony with an extraordinary gift of preaching and love for the Word of God. He is the one we yelp out to for heavenly help when we have lost something of value. Inside the Scrovegni Chapel This chapel is in Padua, and the frescos around the chapel are by the early Renaissance artist Giotto. The very large fresco at the end of the chapel is of the Last Judgement. Jesus is in the centre. To His left and right are the Apostles, above on both sides are the Angels. Down on the left are the Saints, and on the right is a depiction of hell, with a big dividing line in the form of a crucifixion cross between them. It's travel to Florence day After a night’s sleep and breakfast, we are ready to load up the coaches with our bags. Today we are going to Florence via Ravenna and Bologna. As you can see the traditional WYD accompaniment of music has already begun. If you look closely you can see the yellow cloth tags for the yellow bus, the red cloth tags for the red bus, and the green cloth tags for the green bus. Facing us – without a guitar – is Oliver from my small group, and also from my parish back home. Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd 24 July 2023 7.15am Padua | 3.15pm Sydney On the Grand Canal within sight of St Mark’s Basilica, Venice. You can make out the tall bell tower, and beyond that the domes of St Mark’s just popping out above the Doge's Palace. Here’s the first photo of our pilgrim small group together: (left to right) myself, Lachlan, Izzy, Oliver, Matthew and Bettina. With thanks to Patti Beatie for taking this photo for us. You can see part of St Mark’s basilica in the background. Our first true day of pilgrimage is only half over, but we are already tired from just walking about Venice and soaking in the splendour of St Mark's Basilica during the regular 10am Sunday Mass which our bishop Anthony Randazzo concelebrated at. Padova (Padua) up next. Vincent Cavanagh 23 Jul 2023, 2:23pm Italy time | 10.23pm Sydney time. Touchdown Doha After an 11.5 hour flight through the night aboard an Airbus A380, we are on the ground in Doha, Qatar, at the Hamad International Airport. We're currently at our departure gate for our connecting flight to Milan, Italy. It appears that we are to be conveyed to our plane by airport bus. I am feeling the travel lag. St Raphael the Archangel, patron of travelers, pray for us. St Mary Magdalene, pray for us. Vincent Cavanagh 22 Jul 2023, 7:09am Doha time. Apart from a few small dilemmas I am finally on my way to WYD 2023. It still feels total surreal at the moment, but hopefully things will settle once I reach Italy. As one of my uncles said to me: "what you're worrying about now won't be what you're worried about on pilgrimage." I think a universal Motto for any pilgrim are the immortal words of Lance Corporal Jones: Don't Panic! Vincent Cavanagh P.S. Lance Corporal Jones was a character in the TV series called Dad’s Army. P.P.S. Photo is of Broken Bay Diocese pilgrims wearing their blue pilgrim T-shirts on their way to board the Sydney to Doha plane, 21 Jul 2023. Pencilled 17 Jul 2023. Painted 18 Jul 2023.
It's slowly starting to hit me that I'm actually going abroad in 7 days. I'm really feeling the exhaustion, as I write this, after having been out tonight at our Diocese's WYD Pilgrim Blessing Mass. It was a very taxing night mentally, as well as physically. Thankfully, I can report that I am now in possession of both my Diocesan Pilgrim and Pilgrimage Travel Provider Kits. I know have a better idea of what I have to pack as well as how much extra space is now available thanks to the new cross-body satchel. Goodnight. Vincent Cavanagh 17 Jul 2023 Previous WYD Formation Session blogposts: Pre-Session #1 Thoughts Session #1 Session #2 Session #3 WYD Travel Itinerary UPDATE |
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