At the Teresianum in Rome our Discalced Carmelite student friars from around the world have remained on campus with their faculty members, where their everyday cloistered way of life has kept them healthy.
They have produced a video, which they titled Speranza (hope). The video is a message of encouragement to all of Italy.
Faculty member Fr. François-Marie Léthel, O.C.D. introduces the video and explains its message and purpose; then the students sing vocalist Josh Groban’s hit solo You Raise Me Up, but with adapted Italian lyrics that echo Carmelite themes of darkness and hope. Each of the international students delivers a message of “coraggio” (courage) to different sectors of Italian society—to the sick, medical workers, families, and others—and then each student closes with a greeting of encouragement in his own language, English included.
The final prayer of the video is the Sub tuum, “We fly to thy protection”. Even if you don’t understand every word, this is a beautiful video that demonstrates the genuine Carmelite spirit of our student friars and the beauty of the Teresianum campus in Rome.
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