Kevin Jones

Corpus Christi at Gricigliano and the celebration of the 70th anniversary of priesthood of His Eminence Cardinal Simoni, friend of the Institute, now retired in Florence after 28 years spent in the atrocious prisons of the Albanian communist regime.

Solemn Mass, procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament through the gardens of the Seminary, Adoration and the reading of the Apostolic Blessing of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in honour of His Eminence.

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live for ever.”
(Gospel according to Saint John, VI)

“Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.”

(First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, XI)

“How sweet is Your Spirit, O Lord! To show Your tenderness to Your children You give them a delicious bread from heaven; You fill the hungry with good things, and the rich and weary You send away empty‑handed.”
(Antiphon of the Magnificat – First Vespers of the Office of the Feast of the Most Blessed Sacrament)

The seminarians and their Superiors recently recieved many graces by a visit to Lucca which is around 48 miles from Florence.

During the visit, the abode of Saint Gemma Galgani was visited. St Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) is honoured in the Catholic Church as a Daughter of the Passion, a young laywoman whose short life was marked by deep humility, intense suffering, and extraordinary mystical union with Christ. Orphaned early and afflicted with severe illnesses, she offered every trial for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls. After a miraculous healing in her teens, Gemma grew in contemplative prayer and, on 8 June 1899, received the stigmata, entering more profoundly into the mystery of the Lord’s Passion. Guided by her guardian angel and inspired by St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, she longed to join the Passionist nuns, a desire fulfilled only at her death when she was clothed in their habit. She died on Holy Saturday at the age of twenty‑five, leaving the Church a radiant example of sacrificial love, purity of heart, and unwavering devotion to Christ crucified.

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The seminarians have just come through an intense period of preparation and examinations. With that now behind them, they were able to pause and breathe, taking a reflective walk through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to pray and regain perspective after the busy weeks of study.

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