“God is not solitude, but perfect communion. For this reason the human person, the image of God, Pope Benedict’s realizes himself or herself in , which is a sincere gift of self.” Bavaria BENEDICT XVI, Angelus, Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Sunday, 22 May 2005. Summer Excursions

The South Tyrolean Alps: View from the Hotel

Additional Excursion: July 24 to 30 South Tyrol

A Week in the South Tyrol (Südtirol)

One of the most spectacularly beautiful spots in the Alps is the South Tyrol in northern Italy. Part of Austria Wooden in the Alps until the end of the First World War, German is still the common language. It was a favorite vacation spot for Pope John Paul II and is now for Pope Benedict. A week will be spent at the Sport Hotel Sonne on the Seiser Alm, the highest meadow in the Alps spread before majestic snow-covered peaks. The region is renowned for its magnificent woodcarving and religious art. Its village chapels are some of the most beautiful in all of Europe with their painted walls and spectacular carved statuary. “My heart beats Bavarian.” The faith of these mountain people is vibrant and colorful. Activities will include hiking mountain trails, International Institute for Culture gondola rides into St. Ulrich (Ortisei), one of the most Ivy Hall EICHSTÄTT fashionable shopping areas in the Alps, rides in horse- 6331 Lancaster Avenue drawn wagons, and nightly formal four course gourmet Philadelphia, PA 19151 July 2 to 9, 2010 dinners. The hotel features incomparable Alpine views, Phone: 215-877-9910 a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. Lectures will Fax: 215-877-9911 also be offered on the history of the region and Pope www.iiculture.org CHIEMSEE Benedict’s views on liturgy and worship. The cost for the program is $2100. [email protected] July 16 to 23, 2010 Inspiration: Boniface in 741. His relics are still venerated in a The men’s monastery on the Men’s Isle is long gone, Baroque shrine nestled in the back of the great Gothic and the island now boasts one of King Ludwig’s grand Joseph Ratzinger was a brilliant theologian, a holy and cathedral in town. The relics of his sister St. Walburga castles, patterned after Versailles. gentle priest, an effective archbishop, a formidable are venerated in the Benedictine Abbey that bears her Excursions: cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine name. We will be given a tour of the church by Sister Excursions will include Ludwig’s castle on Herreninsel of the Faith. Now he is the shepherd and chief pastor Angela and will pray along as the nuns sing Vespers. of more than a billion Catholics. His is a voice of (the Men’s Isle); Marktl am Inn, the birthplace of Pope reason and compassion for all people in a world in Excursions: Benedict; Altötting, his favorite Marian shrine known as turmoil. There will be excursions to the Prince Bishops’ fortress, the Lourdes of Bavaria; a cable car ride to an Alpine peak Spend a week with us exploring Catholic Bavaria Willibaldsburg, St. Walburga’s Monastery, and a crowned with a cross overlooking the Bavarian Sea and which shaped this great man. It is a land of tidy to the Marian chapel of Frauenberg, or countryside; and a falcon show at the Hohenaschau farms, wooded hills, lakes and mountains. It is a “Mary Mount”. Leaving the small town of Eichstätt, we Castle. Leaving the region of Chiemsee, we will travel land of pilgrim sites and roadside shrines. Visit will travel to Freising, the original site of the Archdiocese to Freising, the original site of the Archdiocese of the Benedictine monastery where Father Ratzinger of Munich with its great cathedral and bishop’s fortress. Munich with its great cathedral and bishop’s fortress. conducted retreats, pray in the massive Cathedral in Father Ratzinger taught at the seminary here. Father Ratzinger taught at the seminary here. Munich where Archbishop Ratzinger preached, visit Location 2: July 16 to 23 the Marian shrines he knew and loved. Allow yourself to be shaped by this simple yet rich Catholic culture as Chiemsee (the Bavarian Sea) Benedict himself was. We will travel to southern Bavaria on the Austrian border and make our way by to the ancient Benedictine monastery of Frauenwörth on “the Dames’ Isle” on Chiemsee, the Bavarian Sea. The monastery was founded in 740, predating the crowning of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800. In fact, one of Charlemagne’s great granddaughters, Blessed Irmengard, was Abbess of Frauenwörth in the 9th Century. Munich On each program a day will be spent in Catholic Munich with its Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, its lively markets, and the playful bells and statuary of the Town Hall clock. Lectures will cover the early history of Catholicism in Germany, Church- The Marketplace in Eichstätt State relations today, the intellectual tradition of Pope Benedict and his efforts at liturgical restoration. Location 1: July 2 to 9 Cost for each location: Eichstätt, Bavaria. $1,950 for room and board, lectures, excursions and Eichstätt is the site of the only Catholic university receptions. in Germany. This ancient seat of Prince Bishops If you have any interest in participating in this unique north of Munich was a principal site for the initial event, please respond immediately to evangelization of the German lands. Its first bishop, [email protected] or by calling 215-877-9910. St. Willibald, was ordained here by his uncle St. Frauenwörth on “the Dames’ Isle” Enrollment must be limited to 25 participants.