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Cultivating Compassion
Educational Events in Europe
Interfaith Pilgrimage to Assisi, ItalyCultivating Compassion with Saint Francis and Saint Clare
22–31 May 2012Guides: Margaret Benefiel and David Liedl
Photographer Guide: David Budd
Spiritual Directors International Hosts: Liz Ellmann and Rose Slavkovsky Join us as we walk in the footsteps of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, experiencing their two very different, yet complementary, contemplative lives. Let Clare and Francis become your spiritual guides as you experience their rhythm of contemplation and action. Experience Clare and Francis as models for interfaith dialogue and peacemaking today. Through community, presentations, contemplative practices, walking, art, nature, and tanto buon cibo (a lot of good food), let your soul and body be nurtured. Grow in awareness of the ancient heritage of spiritual guidance while becoming spiritual companions for one another as fellow pilgrims. Download a One-Page Flyer to see your pilgrim guides. Please share the flyer with friends and colleagues who would make meaningful spiritual companions on a contemplative pilgrimage. Download a Book List of recommended titles on the life and times of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Primary sources and movie recommendations are also included. Pilgrimage Itinerary Tuesday, May 22: Endings and Beginnings
Afternoon: Gather in Assisi in time for a 4:00 p.m. afternoon session on pilgrimage and for a city orientation. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience. Wednesday, May 23: Masculine and Feminine
Morning: Sharing on the lives of Francis and Clare.
Afternoon: Walk to San Damiano, where the story of Saint Francis and Saint Clare began. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience on site and allow time to be present in silence. Return to Assisi at own time and pace. Thursday, May 24: Big and Small
Morning: Sharing on Francis and his first brothers, the beginnings of community, and on the beginning of Clare’s journey.
Afternoon: Bus trip to the Portiuncula. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience on site and allow time to be present in silence. Friday, May 25: Stripping and Adorning
Morning: Sharing on Francis and walk to Santa Maria Maggiore. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience on site and allow time to be present in silence.
Afternoon: Walk to Basilica of Saint Francis. There will be time to pray with the basilica’s art. Return to retreat center at own time and pace. Saturday, May 26: Contemplation and Action
Morning: Sharing on Saint Clare and walk to San Rufino.
Afternoon: Visit Basilica of Saint Clare. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience on site and allow time to be present in silence. Return to retreat center at own time and pace. Sunday, May 27: Solitude and Community
Morning: Sharing on the Franciscan hermitage. Day of silence and walk to visit to the hermitage of the Carceri. Walking meditation and shared contemplative practice. Return to retreat center at own time and pace. Monday, May 28: Weakness and Power
Bus trip to Rome, focusing on Francis’s and Clare’s approach to challenging and working in concert with authority and institutional structures. Informative sharing offered en route. Tuesday, May 29: Everything and Nothing
Morning: Learn about Franciscan spirituality and Clare’s later life, including Francis’s visit to the Sultan. Time for quiet reflection.
Afternoon: Learn about the importance of the Assisi underground during World War II, and ways Assisi has become an international center for interfaith dialogue and peacemaking. Guides will offer shared contemplative experience. Wednesday, May 30: Life and Death
Bus trip to LaVerna, where Francis’s identification with the suffering of the world reached its deepest mystical expression. Informative sharing offered on site. Thursday, May 31: Beginnings and Endings
Morning: Retreat closure: Reflect on the pilgrimage experience and celebrate ways to bring the wisdom from Saint Clare and Saint Francis back to our communities.
AccommodationsPilgrims will be staying at Cittadella Ospitalità, a retreat center located in the historic center of Assisi. SDI has reserved single and double-occupancy rooms, each with their own bathroom en suite. Double-occupancy rooms include two twin beds, as there are no double beds. Cittadella Ospitalità is located five hundred meters from the Saint Francis of Assisi Basilica and only three kilometers from the Assisi train station.
 
The room that will be used for the all-group gatherings, pictured above.
Costs USD$1,895.00 per person plus a non-refundable registration fee of USD$500.00 based on double occupancy and includes local transportation, accommodation, two daily meals, tips, and site entry fees. Single-occupancy is available for an additional USD$300.00; there are a limited number of single rooms. If you do not have a roommate or your roommate cancels prior to departure, we will assign one to you, if possible. If we are unable to find a roommate you will be responsible for the additional single supplement charge. Costs do not include international travel, passports, visas, travel insurance, extras beyond standard menu, excess baggage, telephone calls, fuel surcharges, laundry, etc.
RegistrationRegistration for the Interfaith Pilgrimage is limited to 44 pilgrims. Your place in the pilgrimage will be reserved when all of the following items are completed and received by the Spiritual Directors International office: • Pilgrimage Registration Form with complete payment (via the printable registration form)
• Terms and Conditions Form
• Medical Information Form and Authorization
• Travel Information Form
Please note: You must first register for the pilgrimage to secure your spot. Then complete the 3 forms linked above. Once we receive your registration and all 3 forms, your reservation will be complete. Forms may be submitted three ways: 1. Mailed to Spiritual Directors International - Download all three forms, print, fill-out legibly, and mail to:
Spiritual Directors International
PO Box 3584, Bellevue, WA 98009
USA
2. Faxed to +1-425-455-1566 - Download all three forms, print, fill-out legibly, and fax to +1-425-455-1566.
3. E-mailed as an attachment to programs@sdiworld.org. - Download all three forms, print, and fill-out legibly. Then scan your completed forms and e-mail them as an attachment to programs@sdiworld.org.
For the past two pilgrimages, a waitlist was created when the pilgrimage was full. Register early!
Pilgrim Guides
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., has offered spiritual direction
and led retreats for over twenty-five years, including two previous pilgrimages
to Italy. A Quaker, she finds great inspiration in Francis and Clare, who have
helped her deepen her Quaker journey. Margaret is executive officer of
Executive Soul, helping leaders and organizations deepen their spirituality.
She is also adjunct faculty at Andover Newton Theological School in Boston and
visiting lecturer at All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland. Her publications
include Soul at Work, The Soul of a Leader, and The Soul of Supervision. She
lives in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with her husband and their cat.
David Liedl
is a Franciscan brother. For eleven years he lived in a contemplative
Franciscan community among the poor in the South Bronx, New York. He then
served on staff at the Spiritual Development Center for the Diocese of Orlando,
Florida, USA, where he facilitated Franciscan retreats, founded the Center for
Art and Contemplation, and directed the Audire Spiritual Direction Formation
Program. He has served his Franciscan community as vocation director, director
of formation, provincial counselor, and local minister. He currently lives in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. David recently served for two terms on the
Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. He is an artist, musician,
potter, and chef.
Frequently Asked QuestionsDo I need to be a member of Spiritual Directors International to join the pilgrimage?
No, you do not need to be a member of Spiritual Directors International to join the pilgrimage. However, you must be accompanied by a member. Spouses, partners, and friends are welcome on the journey! How physically active will we be? Do I need to be a marathon runner to be a pilgrim?
We will be walking each day, but marathon running is not required! Assisi is quite hilly, so you need to be comfortable walking up and down hills. You should be in relatively good health. International travel can be taxing with jet lag, learning new customs, new foods, different sleeping patterns, etc. SDI has done its best to design the schedule with your well-being in mind. What if something happens before the pilgrimage begins and I’m unable to participate? Can I get my money back?
We require that you have travel insurance so that your costs will be covered in the case of an emergency including an unforeseen cancellation of the pilgrimage. Will pilgrims engage in combined worship?
No. SDI is an increasingly diverse spiritual learning community. A list of local houses of worship will be made available to you; however, offsite worship is the individual’s responsibility. During the pilgrimage, we will share sacred time together designed to deepen our own faith and learn about others.
I do not know much about other spiritual traditions, and I want to learn. Will my curiosity be enough, or should I be advanced in my knowledge of other faiths?
You do not need an advanced understanding of other faiths and traditions to enter into pilgrimage. The most important qualities for the pilgrim journey are a respectful presence, an open mind, and a generous heart. The rest will be learned on the journey.
Travel and Safety InformationTravel Documents: You must have a valid passport for the duration of your time in Italy. Visas to Italy are not required for persons from Australia, Canada, United States, and Western Europe. IMPORTANT: Do not pack your passport or travel documents in your luggage, as you will need them at the airport and at embarkation. Keep them, as well as prescription medication, and any valuables in your carry-on bag, and keep your carry-on with you at all times while traveling.
Transportation: If you intend to fly, the closest airports to Assisi are in Rome (Leonardo da Vinci airport) or Florence (Florence Airport). - There are regular trains to Assisi from both Rome and Florence. For information on trains to Assisi, visit: http://www.raileurope.com/europe-travel-guide/. Choose your country of origin for the journey, language, and the currency you would like to pay in, and the website will help you find information for your train journey. *If you are traveling to Assisi from the airport in Rome, there are a few choices involved. You may either take the Metropolitan train to the Tiburtina Station in Rome, or you may take the Leonardo Express train to the Rome station. Please use the link above to look the schedules online to plan your trip, and while the Leonardo Express is faster, it does cost more. The Metropolitan trains take around 45 minutes and the Leonardo Express takes 30 minutes. Then, it will take another 2 hours by train to arrive in Assisi from Rome. (Note: notice if you need to have your train ticket stamped or validated before using it!). From the train station in Assisi, you may take either a taxi or the "C" bus line to the Cittadella Ospitalità.
- If you prefer to travel by car once you arrive in Italy, you might consider renting a car from one of the rental companies found in the airports, like Hertz, Avis, or Europcar. You may also find it useful to look up driving directions to the Cittadella Ospitalità in Assisi from the airport on Google Maps (maps.google.com).
- There are also regular bus routes to Assisi from the airports as well.
Money: Currency in Italy is Euros (€). You may bring cash to exchange, use credit cards, and/or use ATM machines. Traveler’s cheques are not encouraged, as you must find a bank that will cash them and bank hours are not always convenient in Italy. Electric Appliances: Similar to the rest of Europe, electricity in Italy is two hundred twenty volts alternating at fifty cycles per second. If you are coming from the United States, Canada, or Australia, you will need to bring an adapter for the socket and a power converter for items such as hair dryers and curling irons. Most new electronics such as laptops can run on dual currents, but you will still need to purchase a plug adapter if this is the case. Climate: In May, daytime temperatures will be very pleasant, 65º-80º F. Evening temperatures will be 55º-65ºF. There may be some rain—nothing torrential. Be sure to check the weather before packing. What to Wear: Bring moderate to light clothing that can be worn in layers. Bring appropriate clothes for bus rides and for walking over cobblestones and hilly terrain. You may also want to pack a sweater or jacket for potentially cool evenings, sunglasses, and a hat for sunny days. “Modest dress” needs to be maintained for Holy Sites, which includes clothing that covers the knees and shoulders for both men and women. On hot days, women may wear tank tops or sleeveless blouses if they bring a shawl to cover their shoulders when we visit a Holy Site. You might want some long-sleeved shirts for our few special nights. Telephones: If you want to bring your mobile telephone, be sure to arrange for a calling plan that will allow your telephone to work in Italy. Otherwise, you may use a calling card at public telephones. In an emergency, people can contact you at the retreat center. A telephone number will be provided for pilgrims to use for emergency contact. Meals: Two meals a day (breakfast and midday meal), plus dinner the first night (May 22) are included in the pilgrimage tuition. On the day we travel to Rome (May 28), breakfast and a box midday meal will be provided, and pilgrims will be on their own for dinner when we return to Assisi. A wide range of options are available for dinners in Assisi, from buying food at local markets to moderately priced restaurants to five star restaurants. You can expect to spend between €8 and €40 for your evening meals depending on which option you choose. Language: English is the pilgrimage language. Italian is the official language in Italy. You might consider bringing an Italian phrase book to help you communicate when you are not with the pilgrimage group. General Information: Visit the Italian tourism website for more information on traveling in Italy: http://www.italia.it/en/home.html.
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