It seemed like a lifetime had passed since I lived at the Abbey of San Vincenzo, in Isernia, Italy. I had gone there to meet and study with a remarkable nun called Mother Miriam, with whom I remained close for some 30 years. But the past decade and the pandemic inserted an impenetrable wedge in communication, and we lost touch.
I knew Mother Miriam had gone blind, and thus being unable to continue her independent life at San Vincenzo, she had been brought to the Abbey of Santa Scolastica some 60 kilometers (37 miles) away to be cared for by the nuns. The phone number I’d had for her there kept ringing before going to fax, and an email address I’d previously used (for one Sister Martha) yielded no results.
During a recent trip to Rome, I had hoped to find out what I could of Mother Miriam’s destiny. Thanks to the efforts of a friend, I found myself holding a small piece of paper on which was written Sister Martha’s number. She was awaiting my call. I learned Mother Miriam had died four years prior, having succumbed to Parkinson’s disease.
Sister Martha was, to my surprise, Brooklyn born, and we connected as two New York ladies far from home. She invited me to come to the Abbey for the day, and to take me to visit the tomb of Reverend Mother Miriam. So it was that I found myself on a two hour train ride from Roma Termini into the rocky landscape of Cassino where Sr. Martha had arranged to meet me.
To identify myself, I offered the helpful information that I would be wearing a tan trench coat. She replied, with the perfect timing of a sense of humor honed in Brooklyn,
“I’m in black”.
In the images here I have attempted to capture a portion of that day.
Sister Martha of Brooklyn, NY and Cassino, Italy, holding the flowers and herbs we chose to adorn the grave of Mother Miriam. The rosemary plant is for Mother’s love of cooking.
2. Flower Vendor St. Batolomeo
The flower vendor at the Cemetery of San Bartolomeo. The colors, the magnificent selection of fresh flowers and plants, coupled with the warm and serene disposition of the vendor all seemed life affirming, so different from standard graveyard florists’ shops.
3. Cemetery of St. Batolomeo
Cemetery of San Bartolomeo in Cassino. Yew and Cypress trees sway beneath a moody March sky.
4. Caretaker
The caretaker’s kind demeanor and lilting chit-chat were consoling as we descended into the crypt of Mother Miriam’s tomb.
5. Tombstone
The stark reality of a lifespan carved in marble. Born in Elmira, New York; Entered religious life at the age of 18, and as Reverend Mother Miriam was Prioress of one of Italy’s most ancient abbeys.
6.The Santa Scolastica nuns
The nuns of the Abbey of Santa Scholastica: (left to right) Madre Gabriella, Prioress; Madre Placida, Abbess; and Sister Martha.
7. Lunch
Lunch was Delicious Extravagant Simplicity.Cooked by Abbess Placida, it consisted of pasta, roast chicken, greens, and frosted layer cake!
8. Abbess Placida
Abbess Placida entered religious life at the age of ten. This was not an uncommon occurrence. Due to widespread post-war poverty, many parents sought to place their daughters in the care of the Abbey. Most of the young girls eventually left the Abbey and made their way in the secular world. Madre Placida recounts how she was called to monastic life, and so remained.
9. St Scolastica Chapel Grille
St. Scholastica Chapel Grille. The grille, such an important symbol for the enclosed Benedictine Order, here crafted in organic leaf form by a local smith.
10. View up to Montecassino
The Abbey of Montecassino looms from above in the distance. Founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, (the brother of Saint Scholastica), the Abbey of Montecassino is the seat of the Benedictine Order, for which Benedict wrote his “Rule for Monasteries.” Famous for its near total destruction during WWII, it was rebuilt entirely to its original specifications and is a marvel to be explored.
