I don't know about 2012, but I do hope you join us on the first "Thomas Merton pilgrimage to Italy" in January, 2008 (40 years since his death and 75 years after his life-changing trip to Rome, where he first got the idea "I'd like to become a Trappist (Cistercian) monk"). Accomodations can be found at the Domus Sessoriana (http://www.domussessoriana.it/), the sole structure in the world to have been built inside an imperial roman residence transformed into a Basilica, the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme which contains the relics of Christ - the first Christian church opened by the emperor Constantine and his mother, Helen. Within the premises of the Cistercian Abbey Complex there is also the opportunity to have an in-depth knowledge of the cultural and religious features by organising a tour with our qualified archeologist at the Museum of the Monastery, the Cistercian Vegetable Garden, the Basilica of Saint Cross in Jerusalem including the Chapel of Saint Gregory and Saint Helen, concluding with the Relics of the Passion of our Lord.
