Unbelievable "Roncalli" Day in Istanbul
Greetings
As I have traveled in the footsteps of our beloved Angelo Cardinal Roncalli these past nine years there have been many memorable days. Just this past spring break when our faculty/staff pilgrimage got to meet by mere chance retired Archbishop Bonicelli, who knew Pope John XXIII personally and had worked with him on a couple of different occasions.
Today, here in Istanbul was another one of those divinely inspired days that is nothing but a great blessing from God.
Jane and I set out this morning for the residence Cathedral of the Holy Spirit where we attended mass on Sunday. Behind the Cathedral there is an area of a couple of city blocks owned by the Vatican. It includes among other things a residence for the bishop, Bishop Ruben Gonzalez, as well as the residence for the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop Russell.
As we walked out of the back of church today to get to the street that leads to the residences we happened by chance to bump into Bishop Ruben. He was kind enough to take a few minutes to meet with us and talk of his time as bishop in Istanbul. What a cordial, kind person he is!! He truly embodies the humble spirit of his predecessor in Istanbul. He spoke of what an honor it was for him to serve in the same role as Monsignor Roncalli did when in Istanbul. Here is a picture of the two of us.
Following that chance meeting we walked up "Roncalli Street" (picture below) to the residence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Russell (born in Michigan; seminary in Boston).
I had been in contact with the Nuncio's secretary for a number of months leading up to our trip. The Nuncio's main residence and place of work is Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey and some 250 miles south of Turkey. His secretary had shared with me even as late as this past weekend that both he and the Nuncio would be in Ankara and unavailable for a visit. Today as we arrived at the residence we were escorted back to a gorgeous outdoor greeting area. A few minutes later, much to our amazement and total delight, we were greeted by the Apostolic Nuncio himself, Archbishop Russell!!! Wow - I was speechless at first. After I stumbled through introducing Jane and myself, I told him that I had thought he was out of town back in Ankara. He had a little smile on his face indicating he/they may have pulled one over on me. While I never asked directly, I do believe his secretary had kept it a secret that the Nuncio would be in town and available. Wow!!!!
We chatted briefly in the courtyard over tea while I shared with him some of the details of my pilgrimages to walk in the footsteps of Angelo Cardinal Roncalli. Then, unbelievably, he took Jane and I on a private tour of every nook and cranny of the residence. The residence was totally 100% renovated by Bishop Roncalli in 1935 when he arrived in Istanbul with the private monies of Angelo Roncalli. There is a huge marble slab that commemorates this and extends thanks to Roncalli for his generosity. So, everything that we saw in the residence today was put there by Roncalli himself. It was amazing!
I do not have time in the blog today to share all of the pictures and details of our visit today but will share a few items here with you now. One is the bishop's sceptre which was used by Bishop Roncalli and that is used today by the Nuncio. One is the dining room area in which every modern day pope after Roncalli has dined out with the exception of Pope John Paul I (Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and most recently Pope Francis). We prayed in the nuncio's private chapel, which includes a kneeler that Roncalli had specially designed. Here are pictures of these items along with a picture of the Nuncio and me in the garden
We saw relics, pictures, paintings, pieces of furniture and so much more, all of which is directly linked back to Angelo Roncalli. The Nuncio is very humbled to be serving in the same capacity as did Archbishop Roncalli. He spoke frequently throughout our visit of how the writings of Roncalli had inspired his work as well as the spirit of Angelo Roncalli. It was truly amazing to be walking in the footsteps of Angelo Roncalli alongside another Apostolic delegate so endeared to Roncalli.
Archbishop Russell shared some of his vision and strategic planning ideas. He really wants people from around the world to be able to experience this residence along with the Nuncio's private retreat house on the Princes Island off the coast of Turkey. He is hoping to renovate both residences and open them up as possible retreat houses. Amazingly, he has offered to us at Roncalli High School the opportunity to come to Turkey and spend time at the Nuncio's private retreat house on Princes Island where we could experience a personal/group retreat focusing on the writings and life of St. John XXIII! Sounds like another pilgrimage opportunity to me! The retreat house when renovated will have eight separate rooms with private baths and again he has offered it to us.
Again, I could cite additional stories from today's visit and other items of significance that we saw but I will save that for a later date. Suffice to say, it was an awesome RONCALLI DAY!! I want to thank all of you for your prayers as I am certain they played a role in the great surprise that greeted us today when Archbishop Russell walked out to greet us!
Tomorrow is our final day - honestly, we do not have much on the docket. We are going to hit the Grand Bazaar tomorrow (4,500 shops) for which Istanbul is famous and then prepare for our trip home. We actually leave for the airport shortly after midnight local time here in Istanbul. We take an early morning flight to Paris and then are fortunate enough to have the direct Paris to Indy flight that will have us home on the evening of July 4.
Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Jane and me during this pilgrimage. It is hard to believe it is coming to an end but it has once again been a life impacting experience. From walking into (not on) the Sea of Galilee to praying in the Garden of Gethsemane to seeing all three of his residences in Sofia to today's fabulous day in Istanbul, it has been one blessing after another!
I look forward to sharing many more pictures and stories with all of you at a future date!
Thanks again for the prayers - they were greatly appreciated and more importantly were answered!
God bless and see you back in the states on July 4!!
Many more pictures from today available on Jane's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/jane.weisenbach
As I have traveled in the footsteps of our beloved Angelo Cardinal Roncalli these past nine years there have been many memorable days. Just this past spring break when our faculty/staff pilgrimage got to meet by mere chance retired Archbishop Bonicelli, who knew Pope John XXIII personally and had worked with him on a couple of different occasions.
Today, here in Istanbul was another one of those divinely inspired days that is nothing but a great blessing from God.
Jane and I set out this morning for the residence Cathedral of the Holy Spirit where we attended mass on Sunday. Behind the Cathedral there is an area of a couple of city blocks owned by the Vatican. It includes among other things a residence for the bishop, Bishop Ruben Gonzalez, as well as the residence for the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop Russell.
As we walked out of the back of church today to get to the street that leads to the residences we happened by chance to bump into Bishop Ruben. He was kind enough to take a few minutes to meet with us and talk of his time as bishop in Istanbul. What a cordial, kind person he is!! He truly embodies the humble spirit of his predecessor in Istanbul. He spoke of what an honor it was for him to serve in the same role as Monsignor Roncalli did when in Istanbul. Here is a picture of the two of us.
I had been in contact with the Nuncio's secretary for a number of months leading up to our trip. The Nuncio's main residence and place of work is Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey and some 250 miles south of Turkey. His secretary had shared with me even as late as this past weekend that both he and the Nuncio would be in Ankara and unavailable for a visit. Today as we arrived at the residence we were escorted back to a gorgeous outdoor greeting area. A few minutes later, much to our amazement and total delight, we were greeted by the Apostolic Nuncio himself, Archbishop Russell!!! Wow - I was speechless at first. After I stumbled through introducing Jane and myself, I told him that I had thought he was out of town back in Ankara. He had a little smile on his face indicating he/they may have pulled one over on me. While I never asked directly, I do believe his secretary had kept it a secret that the Nuncio would be in town and available. Wow!!!!
We chatted briefly in the courtyard over tea while I shared with him some of the details of my pilgrimages to walk in the footsteps of Angelo Cardinal Roncalli. Then, unbelievably, he took Jane and I on a private tour of every nook and cranny of the residence. The residence was totally 100% renovated by Bishop Roncalli in 1935 when he arrived in Istanbul with the private monies of Angelo Roncalli. There is a huge marble slab that commemorates this and extends thanks to Roncalli for his generosity. So, everything that we saw in the residence today was put there by Roncalli himself. It was amazing!
I do not have time in the blog today to share all of the pictures and details of our visit today but will share a few items here with you now. One is the bishop's sceptre which was used by Bishop Roncalli and that is used today by the Nuncio. One is the dining room area in which every modern day pope after Roncalli has dined out with the exception of Pope John Paul I (Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and most recently Pope Francis). We prayed in the nuncio's private chapel, which includes a kneeler that Roncalli had specially designed. Here are pictures of these items along with a picture of the Nuncio and me in the garden
We saw relics, pictures, paintings, pieces of furniture and so much more, all of which is directly linked back to Angelo Roncalli. The Nuncio is very humbled to be serving in the same capacity as did Archbishop Roncalli. He spoke frequently throughout our visit of how the writings of Roncalli had inspired his work as well as the spirit of Angelo Roncalli. It was truly amazing to be walking in the footsteps of Angelo Roncalli alongside another Apostolic delegate so endeared to Roncalli.
Archbishop Russell shared some of his vision and strategic planning ideas. He really wants people from around the world to be able to experience this residence along with the Nuncio's private retreat house on the Princes Island off the coast of Turkey. He is hoping to renovate both residences and open them up as possible retreat houses. Amazingly, he has offered to us at Roncalli High School the opportunity to come to Turkey and spend time at the Nuncio's private retreat house on Princes Island where we could experience a personal/group retreat focusing on the writings and life of St. John XXIII! Sounds like another pilgrimage opportunity to me! The retreat house when renovated will have eight separate rooms with private baths and again he has offered it to us.
Again, I could cite additional stories from today's visit and other items of significance that we saw but I will save that for a later date. Suffice to say, it was an awesome RONCALLI DAY!! I want to thank all of you for your prayers as I am certain they played a role in the great surprise that greeted us today when Archbishop Russell walked out to greet us!
Tomorrow is our final day - honestly, we do not have much on the docket. We are going to hit the Grand Bazaar tomorrow (4,500 shops) for which Istanbul is famous and then prepare for our trip home. We actually leave for the airport shortly after midnight local time here in Istanbul. We take an early morning flight to Paris and then are fortunate enough to have the direct Paris to Indy flight that will have us home on the evening of July 4.
Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Jane and me during this pilgrimage. It is hard to believe it is coming to an end but it has once again been a life impacting experience. From walking into (not on) the Sea of Galilee to praying in the Garden of Gethsemane to seeing all three of his residences in Sofia to today's fabulous day in Istanbul, it has been one blessing after another!
I look forward to sharing many more pictures and stories with all of you at a future date!
Thanks again for the prayers - they were greatly appreciated and more importantly were answered!
God bless and see you back in the states on July 4!!
Many more pictures from today available on Jane's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/jane.weisenbach
Thanks for sharing your journey! I learned so much about a man I only knew by name. Safe travels.
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