Study Abroad in Italy
 As the University of St. Thomas continues to maintain a reputation of hosting one of the nation’s elite study abroad programs, a group of 22 globetrotting students can plant yet another flag pin in their world map of travels, and record another chapter in their memoirs.
From June 2 to 26, UST students led by Dr. Bernard Bonario and Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE, traveled to Italy to participate in a Catholic Studies program in Assisi, Florence and Rome. While experiencing the sites, culture and history of Italy, students were immersed in an intensive study of theology and art history which can be applied toward the University’s core requirements.
According to the Institute for International Education Exchange, UST ranks as one of the top 20 universities in the United States for study abroad programs. Though it is estimated that only about two percent of American university students study abroad, UST sends an average of 8 to 10 percent of its undergraduate students to study internationally every year.
“The Italy Study Abroad program is a wonderful opportunity for students to integrate theology and art history in a kind of `walking classroom` and a lived experience at the heart of the Church,” said Sr. Damien Marie.
Highlights of the trip included an audience with Pope Benedict XVI; a tour of the Vatican Museums; Mass in the catacombs of the early martyrs; Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, along with a Scavi tour of the ruins beneath the Basilica; a special tour of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi; a hike up the mountain above Assisi to the Carceri where St. Francis retreated to pray; a meeting with the Bishop of Assisi; and a first-ever visit and hike to the ancient mountaintop town of Bagnoregio where Saint Bonaventure was born and spent his childhood. During the course of the study abroad trip, students visited the major museums and churches of Assisi, Florence, and Rome to study how theology is portrayed in gothic, renaissance and baroque art.
The Italy trip was the third study abroad for Cimela Kidonakis, a communications major and theology and Spanish minor. Kidonakis said the trip was more spiritually and academically concentrated than her previous studies abroad, but she would recommend it whole-heartedly to other students.
“This is a different kind of study abroad; it’s more like a pilgrimage,” Kidonakis said. “We got such a comprehensive tour, and that helps you learn the material and remember it. When we learned about Franciscan and Dominican spirituality, we actually got to see the sites and churches that impacted St. Francis’ life, and that really made the story come alive.”
Kidonakis said she will never forget being in the crowd and having “good seats” to see the Pope. “When they announced the groups of pilgrims, we cheered the loudest of all the groups when they said the University of St. Thomas, and the Holy Father waved to us!”
Rebecca Heffern, a Catholic Studies and Spanish double major said this was her first visit to Europe. She learned about the Italy study abroad before her freshman year. The fact that the trip meets core requirements for art and upper level theology in part enticed her to enroll in the University.
“As a Catholic Studies major, the history of the Church is very interesting to me, so it was amazing to see all of those sites in person,” Heffern said. “It was incredible to see how history has contributed to the Church as it is today, and to see that it is still so alive.”
UST students have moved beyond the confines of the classroom to study in countries spanning the globe. Locations for winter programs have been in London, England, and Lucea, Jamaica, Argentina and Peru. Summer programs have gone to Merida, Mexico, Prague, Czech Republic, Barcelona, Spain, Maynooth, Ireland, Limerick, Ireland, Lyon, France and Taipei, Taiwan. Additional programs for MBA/MIB students have gone to Bangalore, India, Beijing, China, Lima, Peru and several European countries.
The study abroad in Italy is offered every two years. For more information about Catholic Studies and studying in Italy, contact Sr. Damien Marie at savinod@stthom.edu. For more information about the UST Study Abroad program, click here or contact Diana Garcia at garciad@stthom.edu.
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