Slow start in Sofia
Welcome Back and welcome to Sofia
Delighted to be back blogging with you as I continue to walk in the footsteps of St. John XXIII, our beloved Angelo Cardinal Roncalli.
We were in Athens, Greece for one day. He served as an Apostolic Delegate in Athens at the same time he served as an Apostolic Delegate in Turkey (Istanbul). His official residence during this time was in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). He would travel to Athens as needs presented himself but again his primary work was in Turkey.
After leaving Athens and spending three days in Santorini, Greece, we landed yesterday afternoon in Sofia, Bulgaria. This is where he served as an Apostolic Delegate from 1925-1934. He had been consecrated a Bishop just prior to his leaving for Bulgaria. This ceremony consecrating him a Bishop took place at San Carlos Church in Rome, which is one of the churches we visit on our school sponsored pilgrimage. As was the case wherever he ministered, he was deeply loved in this very poor, mostly Orthodox country of Bulgaria.
Yesterday was a tough day as I developed some type of flu bug which made traveling through airports and on airlines very challenging. I will spare you the details but it was a very long, challenging day. We arrived to rain in Sofia and it pretty much has not stopped since we arrived. The forecast does not call for sunshine until Sunday.
This is my first trip into what we use to call the Eastern Bloc, communist nations mostly taken over by Russia after WWII. It is quite telling in so many of the buildings are old and drab. The country officially denounced Communism as a part of the European uprising in 1990 when the Berlin wall fell in Germany. However, we took a very good walking tour of the city today (in the rain) and while the country is democratic in terms of its election process there is still a very strong ruling party that is strongly linked to communism and socialism.
Some of our RHS folks who have traveled to Italy for our pilgrimage know of Ivan Bastoni, who was the private secretary to Monsignor Capovilla. He has connected us with a local person who is suppose to be well versed on the aspects of John XXIII's time here in Bulgaria. We were to have met with him today but it was postponed as there is a Cardinal in town today as well and he needed to assist him. Thus, we are meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow for what hopefully is a day filled with St. John XXIII sites and stories. For me it feels a bit like Christmas eve as I am very excited to hear firsthand about the great love that Bishop Roncalli (at that time) shared with the people of this country.
Will be posting a blog tomorrow hopefully filled with pictures from the day. You can access Jane's Facebook page if you would like to see more pictures from Athens, Santorini or other parts of the pilgrimage.
God bless and looking forward to being with you tomorrow.
https://www.facebook.com/jane.weisenbach
Delighted to be back blogging with you as I continue to walk in the footsteps of St. John XXIII, our beloved Angelo Cardinal Roncalli.
We were in Athens, Greece for one day. He served as an Apostolic Delegate in Athens at the same time he served as an Apostolic Delegate in Turkey (Istanbul). His official residence during this time was in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). He would travel to Athens as needs presented himself but again his primary work was in Turkey.
After leaving Athens and spending three days in Santorini, Greece, we landed yesterday afternoon in Sofia, Bulgaria. This is where he served as an Apostolic Delegate from 1925-1934. He had been consecrated a Bishop just prior to his leaving for Bulgaria. This ceremony consecrating him a Bishop took place at San Carlos Church in Rome, which is one of the churches we visit on our school sponsored pilgrimage. As was the case wherever he ministered, he was deeply loved in this very poor, mostly Orthodox country of Bulgaria.
Yesterday was a tough day as I developed some type of flu bug which made traveling through airports and on airlines very challenging. I will spare you the details but it was a very long, challenging day. We arrived to rain in Sofia and it pretty much has not stopped since we arrived. The forecast does not call for sunshine until Sunday.
This is my first trip into what we use to call the Eastern Bloc, communist nations mostly taken over by Russia after WWII. It is quite telling in so many of the buildings are old and drab. The country officially denounced Communism as a part of the European uprising in 1990 when the Berlin wall fell in Germany. However, we took a very good walking tour of the city today (in the rain) and while the country is democratic in terms of its election process there is still a very strong ruling party that is strongly linked to communism and socialism.
Some of our RHS folks who have traveled to Italy for our pilgrimage know of Ivan Bastoni, who was the private secretary to Monsignor Capovilla. He has connected us with a local person who is suppose to be well versed on the aspects of John XXIII's time here in Bulgaria. We were to have met with him today but it was postponed as there is a Cardinal in town today as well and he needed to assist him. Thus, we are meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow for what hopefully is a day filled with St. John XXIII sites and stories. For me it feels a bit like Christmas eve as I am very excited to hear firsthand about the great love that Bishop Roncalli (at that time) shared with the people of this country.
Will be posting a blog tomorrow hopefully filled with pictures from the day. You can access Jane's Facebook page if you would like to see more pictures from Athens, Santorini or other parts of the pilgrimage.
God bless and looking forward to being with you tomorrow.
https://www.facebook.com/jane.weisenbach
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