St. Polycarp Relic We left the hotel at 5:00 am to catch a flight to Izmir at 7:20 am. It was early. Rebecca commented on how she tried to get the tour company to arrange a later flight but had not been successful. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We arrived in Izmir (formerly Smyrna at the time Christ) and bussed over to the Cathedral of St. John for Mass. This was a change of venue. We were supposed to have Mass at St. Mary’s church, but it was changed due to construction or something. We were in for an unexpected surprise.   The Cathedral had a relic of 2nd century martyr St. Polycarp on the right side of the altar. I never thought I would ever see such a thing. I had researched the saint for my Church history class and had an affinity for his bravery and love for Christ. Also, I have dear old friends that named one of their son’s Polycarp, and I was excited to share the relic discovery with them. St. Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna for 30 years and the last person to die (that we know of) who

Hagia Sophia at Dusk St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church We began the morning with 8:30 am Mass in the chapel at St. Anthony of Padua Church. We could not celebrate Mass in the main sanctuary because the Archbishop of Milan was celebrating Mass for 100 priests. Right before he began Mass, the Archbishop asked Rebecca where our group was from. Surprising to me, she said “Texas.” She used to respond with something like, “I live in Texas, but I’m not from Texas.” Now, after therapy, she is now embracing the great state. The church was originally constructed by Venetian friars belonging to the Franciscan order. It was demolished in 1906 and then reconstructed in 1912. The Church is currently managed by the Franciscan friars. It is the largest and most active Catholic parish in Istanbul, which is predominately Muslim. Our priest celebrated Mass with a Franciscan priest assisted by two Franciscan brothers. There were three locals at Mass who sang with beautiful voices. We met two of them: Agatha from Nigeria and Librica from the Philippines. Both work as nannies. The weather was cloudy, gloomy, and cold. I had to grudgingly tell Rebecca that she was right again—always a humbling