On the 9th and 10th of last July, we held in Rome the second national conference followed by a meeting, as we did with the first one held in Sardinia.
We picked a special place this time: the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, on the beautiful and full of history Ardeatina Street, outside of the urban chaos of the metropolis. Very dear to the Romans, the Sanctuary offers not only a special space for thinking and spiritual contemplation, but also the opportunity to relax surrounded by trees and quiet.
The arrival was the Termini station, on a Friday's afternoon. There we found the coach of the Tarallo Tour company waiting for us.
We were numerous and there was an atmosphere that reminded us of a school trip, seeing those we already knew and warmly welcoming the newcomers. The shift from Termini to the Hotel Casa del Pellegrino was a bit 'longer than expected (due to construction work, now a classic in the italian capital!) but gave us the opportunity of getting to know each other right away, building a familiar and informal atmosphere between us all.
This second meeting has seen a big attending, with the presence of many children and their parents. The atmosphere was festive since the night at dinner, it was followed then by a wonderful after-dinner entertainment for children, organized and brilliantly animated with joy by Claudio Sacchetti and Vincenzo Giarratana, who quickly became the most sought by the children, not only because of their skills and games, but also and above all for their human qualities, sincere affection and warmth.
The day after (saturday, day of the conference) when we had lunch, we noticed we were a lot, in addition to the participants that stayed overnight at the hotel there was a big number of people coming from Rome and from the Lazio Province who came exclusively in order to follow the conference.
The atmosphere was lively, with endless chatters and camera flashes, it almost seemed to be on one of those big, loud weddings of the past. On Sunday the 10th we ended the meeting with a peaceful and educational trip to St. Peter and the surrounding area, in a more than familiar and chilled feel, thanks in part to the always professional and discreet Salvatore Tarallo (brother of Carlo, the owner of the coach company) who was with us.
In short, almost everything went well, although at first we had some technical mishaps but everything at the end turned in our favour, let say that "Our Lady took care of it".
Thank you all and thank God, because if it was a success it's because of the contribution of each of you, with the generosity and willingness to bring out the best of everything that every person carries.
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