In September, 14 pilgrims travelled to Florence accompanied by fr. Thomas Mannion OP for a week which also included visits to Bologna and Siena.
We had the opportunity to visit some of the famous cultural sites of Florence, including the Duomo and Michelangelo’s statue of David.
There are several sites in Florence which have Dominican connections. We celebrated Mass at the Dominican church of S. Maria Novella where we were also given an excellent guided tour by one of the friars who is resident in Florence.
At S. Marco we visited the paintings and frescoes of fra Angelico. In the church at S. Marco we spent time talking about 4 Dominicans who were important in the history of Florence: fra Angelico, St. Antoninus, Girolamo Savonarola and the Lay Dominican Giorgio la Pira, before celebrating Mass at the tomb of St. Antoninus.
We visited Bologna, where one of the community gave us a tour, including a visit to the cell of St. Dominic. At the shrine of St. Dominic we celebrated Mass and prayed for the whole Dominican family.
In Siena we visited the Duomo and museum. At S. Domenico we celebrated Mass and lit a candle for the Lay Dominicans of our province at the relics of St. Catherine, before walking down to St. Catherine’s house where we prayed the rosary.
