Ivy
Hall offers summer fare for the soul
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
Those taking part in the summer seminar sponsored by the International
Institute for Culture (IIC) will have an opportunity to study Pope Benedict
XVI’s 2006 Regensburg address in a stunning island setting at the
foot of the Alps, in the Pope’s home state of Bavaria in Germany.
The IIC has organized summer seminars on faith and culture since 1989
in the Bavarian university town of Eichstätt. This summer, however,
participants will head south to one of the most enchanting areas in all
of Europe, according to John Haas, president and founder of the IIC.
Chiemsee, the largest lake in Bavaria, has two islands — Ladies’
Isle, with an ancient convent, and Lords’ Isle, with one of King
Ludwig’s magnificent castles.
Participants will stay on the Ladies’ Isle where they will attend
daily Mass at the convent, which was built in 744, and morning lectures
on the grounds of the island. Afternoon excursions will be taken in nearby
towns, including Salzburg; participants will visit Mozart’s birthplace,
the Cathedral and the Prince Archbishop’s fortress looming over
the town. They will also have the opportunity to attend a concert featuring
music of Haydn and Mozart.
“One of the things that we have never experienced as Americans is
really living in a Catholic culture, where the faith is manifested all
around us in big and little ways,” Haas said. “Bavarians have
a way of living in nature and manifesting their faith in the easiest way.
It is a thriving Catholic culture and it is spectacularly beautiful.”
Haas will assist in leading the course on the Pope’s address. “It
is one of the most brilliant and concise analyses I have ever read regarding
what constitutes the real threat to our faith in our day — which
is, in summary, the repeated attempts to remove the dimension of reason
from religious faith,” he said.
After spending a week taking in the culture and beauty in Chiemsee and
considering the impact of the Pope’s address, participants who wish
to do so may continue on a hiking excursion through the South Tyrolean
Alps.
“About two hours from Chiemsee is the most spectacular spot I have
ever seen in the Alps,” said Haas, who has visited Germany every
year since he studied at the University of Munich
“There is a hotel in the largest meadow in the Alps, in the middle
of a national park,“ he said. “It is surrounded by magnificent
peaks and provides breathtaking strolls for those who would take a more
leisurely vacation — but it also provides some of the most grueling
mountain climbing for the more adventuresome.”
The program will include daily Mass and provide a range of activities
that include a visit to St. Ulrich, the center of religious wood-carving
in Europe, and visits to the South Tyrolean Alps’ mountaintop monastery
and castle.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith may be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.
To see videos and photos and obtain more information, visit: www.iiculture.org;
contact John Haas at: drhaasbavaria@aol.com,
or call 215-877-9910.
Note: The summer session depends on whether sufficient people sign up
for it. If you are interested, contact John Haas by April 30.