Awake: 5:38am Temp 43 sleep 5+05 overcast overnight @ Nicktown, PA.
We attend 8:00am Mass, then join the Koffee members for 1.4 hrs. Today is Donna’s birthday (the church organ player) so those (2) desserts: lemon bars & double chocolate banana cake are for her but we know she will share them with the rest of the starving Koffee Klub members. Again, extra chairs were necessary for the occasion.
After breakfast, I take the Suzuki to Spangler & vacuum the cabin & cargo area; then in our circular driveway, I clean all the glass except headlights.
Theresa arrives @ 12:29pm. Today we tour; drive to the town of Loretto (35 min), do an auto tour of the Saint Francis University campus & then tour the Loretto town (population 350). @ the end of town, there is a huge Catholic church that none of us have been inside. The door is not locked so in we go.
What a nice surprise! This Basilica, Saint Michael the Archangel, is a diamond in the rough. Built by & paid for by the American Industrialist, Charles M. Schwab & his wife in 1901. Schwab was raised in Loretto, spent (2) yrs attending Saint Francis College, then started working for the steel industry in Pittsburgh, PA. He always called Loretto his home town. The (3) of us self toured this beautiful ornate structure from the basement up; what a prize to have in such a small town.
Next, we visit the statue & tomb of Prince Gallitzin, the Russian Prince-priest, who gave up a life of ease to be the founder of the Loretto Catholic Colony. We find a path & it leads to a shrine for the “Sisters of Mercy” nuns. They settled in Loretto in 1848, built a school on Saint Mary’s Street which became the forerunner of Saint Aloysius Academy; later to be Mount Aloysius College near Cresson, PA.
We continue following the path & find ourselves in the very old cemetery. After some careful tombstone checking, we enter the nearby chapel & home of the founder, Fr. Gallitzin.
We are greeted by the Rev. Brian, who is on duty today; he offers us a film clip covering the Prince Gallitzin story & how he influenced the beginning of this beautiful church. Rev. Brian also tours us thru the home & chapel + some interesting artifacts of the prince-priest; so much significant local history.
Time to move on: next we self tour the “Museum of Art” @ the nearby Saint Francis University. That was ok….. & then a walking self tour of the “Sunken Gardens” of Mount Assisi Monastery which was very nice.
Dinner: fish fry (pollack) with French fries or baked potato & cold slaw & wine @ the nearby “Lemon Drop Golf Club & Restaurant.” What a nice ½ day tour of something interesting & historic right under our noses! It was also very pleasant having Theresa with us. She enjoys touring & exploring as we do. We will be keeping in touch.
High temp=66 Lights out: 11:40pm
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