Goodbye and hello again

On October 11, 2011, I moved to San Lorenzo di Brindisi International College in preparation for the renovation of the General Curia. Almost all of us, went from having a bedroom and an office to having one room that for both working and sleeping. There was some grumbling about that (yes, brothers grumble! Who knew?), but in the end I didn't miss the extra space that much. The International College is not the ideal space for a generalate, but it worked.

Now we are approaching the day when we can return to our renovated building. The first group of "pioneers" is scheduled to move on July 7. Their task will be to get the house cleaned and ready for the rest of the community. The rest of the fraternity will begin moving their belongings on July 14. The fraternity's last day in "Green Acres" is scheduled for July 20. Although there are some things I will miss about live at the International College, I am looking forward to moving back into Rome. Unfortunately, I will not actually get there until early September. Since I am leaving on July 5 for two months, I have been packing up my books, files and personal belongings for transport to Via Piemonte. Even after weeding out a lot of unnecessary documents and unwanted books, I still have at least fifteen boxes of stuff for my office. Fortunately, there will be a lot fewer boxes of personal items. It makes me glad I took a vow of poverty!

The General Curia, by the way, looks fantastic. We paid a visit to it last week during the New Ministers Meeting. Although there is still a lot of work to do in the chapel and in the front corridor of the ground floor, the workers are making great progress.