Tuesday 24 September

Tuesday 24 September

This morning the valley is full of mist and from my window on the first floor, I can see no further than the rooftop across the road. The bells all sound muffled and there doesnt seem to be any traffic. This must be what Clare had in mind when she said to Agnes not to let mist and cloud overwhelm her. She had seen mist and cloud filling the valley as a powerful image. This morning we go to S. Maria Maggiore and then San Rufino with a lecture this afternoon from Andre on Franciscan Solitude in preparation for tomorrow which is a day of solitude on the island.

Later n the day. We had a lovely Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore, celebrated by Murray and followed by a moving ritual of Francis before the bishop. Francis was played by the young friar on the pilgrimage who is severely dyslexic but was determined to do it, and it gave the whole ritual a completely new dimension and he read very carefully through his part. The most moving ever I think. Then a historical visit, this church is built almost certainly over the villa of the poet Propertius and you can g down into the cellar which was his living room level, and imagine him setting there with-a cool glass of wine, writing a poem and looking out over the Spoleto valley. 

There has been something precious about coming back to these places year after year, like visiting old friends and introducing them to other friends. I had not really realised how many friends I had made in this way, and as my Italian gets easier, how many living-now friends I have made as well. So far I have not walked around the city each morning like I used to but am waiting in hope for my knees to be less painful which is slowly happening! The more one walks the better it goes, that's for sure.

After S Maria Maggiore we had a coffee break and, for Andre and me a pan cacciato, hinter's bread, a sort of savoury cheese bun with walnuts in.  Murray can eat nuts poor mutt as this bun is only made at this time of year. It also offers a welcome sit down before meeting the pilgrims again at the fountain in Piazza Comune and leading them up to San Rufino where we had an historical visit, some input on where Clare really lived, on the old Cathedral and the new one (consecrated in 1228) and then went in to the chapel for War victims, the. Down to the small place where Francis used to pray all night before preaching on a Sunday morning. A sobering thought! t this point in the programme we also have a renewal of baptismal promises with holy water from the actual font where Francis, Clare, Frederic II and various others were baptised. Until very recently this was the only font in the city but now they have more as the suburbs have expanded so much.

This morning for the first time we saw people begging in the city. But today there was a young man crippled, who said he was Romanian, begging outside San Rufino. He has somewhere to sleep, he said, but no income so he cant buy food. Heaven knows how he got here from Roumania as he did look genuinely crippled, not just 'for the tourists crippled'. Assisi always had a no begging policy which seemed a little strange in the home of Francis, but they must have relaxed it at least, probably, enough to licence some of them. Since San Rufino is the main cathedral, there is no way he could sit in the porch begging without some sort of OK.

So it was quite a full morning and walking up and down hills in between, I dont know which is harder on the knees! So we are always glad of the siesta time and the afternoon. Back at 5.30 forAndre's lecture on Franciscan solitude, then supper and then we are showing the film Francesco, assuming all the gadgets work (that seems to have become my worry!)! Tomorrow we go to the island, hence the talk on solitude.

The weather is very unsettled, during the night there was thick mist over all the valley but mid-morning it cleared up and the sun came up, though not without some cloud companions! Yesterday we had a mega thunderstorm with lightning and thunder rolling round the valley. It reminded me of the one and only time I flew fromPerugia and we sat for ages in the p,ane and the pilot explained that he was waiting for the storm to return to Assisi before takingnoff! Eventually it did just that and off we flew!

Everyone here is keeping up with Greta Thunberg at the UN though the Americans are very despairing about Trump. They think he is mentally sick and impervious to anything. I hope not. Meanwhile we cheer ourselves up with the news that an unknown Cimabue painting has come on the market, after all these centuries! End of page, so love to you all and prayers in these places.