- Spring 2024
- Documentary about Fra Bernardino (call for participation)
- Happy Birthday Brother Bernardino
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Who is Romita?
A lonely, quiet, high-altitude place (800m), rich in history, culture, spirituality and natural beauty. A white island in the middle of green forests. Francis of Assisi stayed at this place in 1213, renovated the ancient chapel in the forest and wrote a short text (“Exhortatio ad laudem Dei”) which anticipates the Canticle of the Sun. The Romita (=single place), originally L’Eremita (=hermitage), was a Franciscan monastery for 650 years, then abandoned for over 130 years and reduced to ruins. In 1991 it was rediscovered by Brother Bernardino and rebuilt under his direction by thousands of volunteers. Today it shines in its original splendour. This special place is located between Rome (110 km) and Assisi (70 km); 30 km from Spoleto, 15 from Terni, 10 from Acquasparta and 6 km from Cesi.
What does the Romita want to be?
In a climate of cordiality and trust, it wants to welcome and gift people openly. We have rebuilt the ancient walls to fill them with people, ideas and deeds. Because of its long history, it invites a spirituality and a lifestyle that invoke Francis. In contrast to a society characterised by noise, stress, overabundance, forgetfulness of God, competition, an economy that is unkind to human beings and the destruction of nature, Romita wants to invite people to a programme of silence and stillness, of prayer, reflection, rest, physical work, simple living, community in solidarity, connectedness with nature and living together with animals. A life in and with nature. An alternative way of life against the trend of the times. Because: “Only dead fish no longer swim against the current.”
Many young and young-at-heart friends have contributed to the reconstruction. For the glory of God, so that many people praise Him on this holy mountain – out of love for Francis, who prayed and worked in this unique place; for the benefit and joy of people seeking peace, self-discovery and strengthening. The renovated buildings are filled with people, ideas and deeds. Romita welcomes people from different nations, languages and cultures and shares with them the ancient spaces and the beautiful landscape. In the seclusion, through silence and prayer, everyone can respond to the questions: “Who am I? What do I need? What do I want? Where do I stand? Where am I going?”. In the footsteps of Francis, we can find our way to Jesus Christ, “the light, the way, the truth and the life” and love Him in our willingness to give ourselves. Mind and heart recover.
The Romita programme lives in the rhythm of prayer and work, of theology and ecology, of worship and table fellowship, of nature and culture, of silence and music, of action and contemplation. It is a school for life: by sharing time and space we learn to live with, for and by each other, i.e. we are all on the way to fulfilling the meaning of life.
Daily routine
Wake-up (with music) before sunrise. Half an hour later we come together for morning prayer in the church and then go to breakfast together, which we always take in silence – as a sign of gratitude towards creation and as a source of strength for the day. After breakfast we discuss the day and the work for the morning (garden, forest, kitchen, housework) until we come together again for lunch at 1 pm. The afternoon is for rest and reflection – for resting, reading, writing, walking. The bell calls and gathers for evening prayer at 7.30 pm. Afterwards we gather for dinner together. Wednesday is a fasting day. Fasting not as a commandment, but as an offer; not as a prescription, but as a suggestion. What is saved on this day is given to children in need. Thus, a day at Romita is filled with times of prayer and reflection (before breakfast and before dinner, on Sundays and holidays also before lunch), work, music, free time and meals together, often taken in silence to practise paying attention to each other.
Who is welcome?
All are welcome (young, old, families with children, believers, agnostics, Christians, atheists, free spirits) – on condition that they are convinced (or at least curious), happy and free to participate in this programme and behave respectfully towards creation and all its creatures, Romita and its inhabitants, whether human, animal or plant. Life up here is simple and plain.
Those who come to Romita take responsibility in the community.
Therefore respect:
- the times of rest (15.00 – 19.00). Use your time at Romita to become aware of the power of
- the power of words. Romita is not a place of empty words.
- The entire inner monastery area is a special place. The chapel and the
- The chapel and the church are places of silence. When the bell calls, we go in silence to pray,
- not only to gather, but also to gather inwardly.
- The area under the Lebanon cedar is a protected area. Here also
- our dogs find their rest. Do not disturb them! They guard the Romita lovingly. In the
- forest live: Wild boars, porcupines, martens, badgers, foxes and wolves.
- We eat our meals together. Breakfast is always in silence. Often
- dinner too. Silence does not mean to speak softly, but not to speak.
- to speak. Body language: facial expressions and gestures, glances, hand movements and
- a smile say more than a thousand words.
- Our dogs are not toys! They live free and in a pack. Touch them only
- when they come to you themselves. Never give the dogs food.
- We have a cleverly devised water system from the time of the brothers. Cisterns collect the precious rainwater for cooking, washing, showering and for the toilet. Be careful with water and detergents.
- Smoking is not allowed in the entire inner area of the Romita.