18/04/2026
Yet my distress did not hinder me from taking a deep interest in the holy places we visited. In the choir of the Carmelite church in Florence we saw the shrine of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, and all the pilgrims were anxious that their rosaries should touch the Saint's tomb. My hand being the only small enough to pass through the grating, I was deputed for this important and rather lengthy task, which I accomplished with pride and delight. This was not the first time I had been so favoured. At Sta. Croce, in Rome, when we venerated the relics of the True Cross, together with two
of the Thorns and
one of the Sacred Nails , I longed to examine them more closely. For this purpose I remained behind, and when the monk in charge was going to replace them on the altar, I asked if might touch the precious treasures. He was quite willing, though doubtful whether I should succeed. I managed, however, to slip my little finger through one of the openings of the reliquary and was able to touch the Sacred Nail once bath by the Blood of our Savior. It is easy to see that I behaved towards our Lord like a child who looks on its father's treasures as its own, and thinks it may do with them as it pleases.
