• Made a family trip to Disney in January.

• Cheered on the Irish through playoff wins in the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl. While I would have liked a different outcome in the national championship game, it was a great season overall and I loved watching this team.

• Visited the Chmiels, met baby Anne, and watched the national championship with them.

• Celebrated my nephew’s first birthday.

• Had a birthday party to celebrate Fr. Gabriel’s 50th.

• Celebrated the Eagles winning the Super Bowl!

• Stayed over at my sister’s for a night after there was a small fire and smoke in my building—Luke was happy to have me.

• Went skiing at Hunter Mountain.

• Created the sixth annual Aughie Madness video.

• Went to Florida for Easter, where my whole family came down with norovirus. Not the best Easter we’ve ever had, but certainly a memorable one. Patient Zero got over his mild case pretty quickly and enjoyed his beach vacation, accompanied at his lounge chair each day by whichever adult was not currently infected. Luckily, I was able to enjoy a few days in Florida with my parents after we’d recovered.

• Mourned the death of Pope Francis (I saw the news amid my bouts of norovirus on Easter Monday), followed the conclave in the coming month, and was excited to welcome Pope Leo XVI! It’s still wild to have a Villanova grad as pope. Here’s hoping that will bring extra inspiration to the team during March Madness this year?

• Reconnected with old friends at the Sisters of Life anniversary party.

• Went to my friend’s lake house over Memorial Day weekend.

• Attended Fr. Lawrence’s ordination Mass in May.

• Traveled to Japan with my family in May/June.

• In June, got the news that the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati—the event around which I had been planning a pilgrimage to Italy for 23 people (plus 19 additional attendees to certain events), a trip that had taken me nine months to plan and which was now just six weeks away—would be postponed from August to September. There was nothing that could be done; our plans could not be changed, and we would still be going on pilgrimage, but it was a huge disappointment to learn that we would not be there for the canonization after all. Every pilgrimage is a lesson in surrender, but this one started before we even stepped on the plane. With this change throwing a wrench in our plans, I spent the next month regrouping and finalizing our new plans for the trip.

• Hosted a Frassati Mass and barbecue at my parents’ house.

• Helped with Mandy’s baby shower in July.

• Led the Frassati pilgrimage to Italy in July/August. We started in Florence, where we climbed Brunelleschi’s Dome and saw original Fra Angelico frescoes in the San Marco Museum. Next, we traveled to Assisi, where we hiked to the Eremo delle Carceri and held an outdoor Mass at the altar of St. Francis, where St. Francis himself used to pray alone up in the mountains. We finished our journey in Rome. We were able to venerate the casket of soon-to-be-Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati at the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which was really special—even though we couldn’t be there for the canonization, it was a unique gift to be so close to his tomb, which was only in Rome for that week in August. We were also able to visit with Wanda Gawronska, Pier Giorgio’s niece, and gift her a beautiful portrait of Pier Giorgio that was painted by Br. François, CFR. We walked through the holy doors to pray in all four papal basilicas, earning the Jubilee year plenary indulgence, and we trekked out to Tor Vergata to attend the Jubilee of Youth Mass with Pope Leo XVI (and a million of our closest friends). It was wonderful to be back in Rome, especially to be staying in the neighborhood where I used to live during my year abroad.

• Had a farewell picnic for a friend leaving NYC.

• Led the Frassati ML retreat in August.

• Finally celebrated the canonizations of Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis on September 7!

• Helped rep Frassati NYC at the parish block party.

• Attended Frassati’s fall retreat in September at Villa Maria Guadalupe.

• Met Mandy’s new baby.

• Went to a fall festival with my family.

• Took a spontaneous long weekend trip to Disney in October.

• Went trick-or-treating with Ron Weasley on Halloween.

• Took a trip to Notre Dame for Navy weekend, showed a few friends around campus, met up with the Chmiels, and stayed through the rain and snow to witness an ND victory.

• Celebrated my birthday in November.

• Celebrated Thanksgiving with family.

• Went to the baptism of Mariela’s new baby.

• Watched the Notre Dame football season end on a total bummer, with the team missing the playoff for reasons not adequately explained by the committee.

• Celebrated Christmas with family.