Written and submitted by: Glenn Lanham
I am an “Ex” of Cenacolo. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Also, I just got my Master’s in Theology. One wouldn’t have happened without the other. I was a member of the Comunità Cenacolo, or “Community of the Cenacle”—the room where the Apostles prayed and celebrated the Last Supper. It’s an Italian-based Catholic rehab for drug and alcohol addicts with houses all over the world. Yes, houses. We lived in common, prayed, worked, ate, and played sports together. You commit to a minimum of 3 years. I was there for 7.
We had Condivision, basically a sharing of how our last few days went, our emotions, etc. We also had Revision, a type of group therapy that followed Condivision, where we received feedback from others. Not for the faint of heart. I found that I could be almost brutally honest, which led to resentments and others being VERY clear about my faults when it was their turn. No harm, no foul.
One of the houses I went to, on purpose, was the Medjugorje house. Medjugorje is a little town in Bosnia, near the Croatian border. It was a backwater but has become a very famous Catholic shrine, similar to Lourdes or Fatima. I will let you look that story up yourself. Anyway, the head honcho in Medjugorje was a guy named Vincenzo, a friendly but quiet chap. Vincenzo Cazzaniga. Irish, of course. Seriously, he was from Milan. In one of my darkest moments, they decided to put me in the kitchen of the new women’s house being built. I could literally burn water. Anxiety and fear are biggies for me. Even though they had a guy’s mom helping me, I freaked out and literally took off. Like, escaped. In the backwoods of Bosnia. The next morning, I knew the only safe place was the Catholic parish, so I trudged in there in all my glory. The priest immediately knew who I was and counseled me on my next step. I knew I had to face my fears, so I returned to Cenacolo and to the kitchen. Vincenzo, who was head of the other house, came by after I cooked one meal and decided to take me back to the big house. It was imprudent of them to put me in that situation, he said. I couldn’t help but agree at the time.
A couple of years later, I was transferred back to the Florida house, then the only US-based house (where, yes, I volunteered to go in the kitchen). Vincenzo had met a girl! He was already getting up there in years. He met a young lady in Medjugorje who had just graduated from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Keep that school in your notebook for later. They dated and decided to marry but stay in Community for a time. They got married in 2000 at the shrine of La Leche in St. Augustine, FL, which was where the first mass in the US was celebrated. I attended. I never saw such joy at a wedding! They later lived in the St. Augustine house and had 2 little daughters. The oldest was “Becca,” about 5 years old. Keep her in mind.
A couple of years ago, I wanted to go deeper in my faith and took a Lay Ministry Course for the Diocese of Charlotte. Covid played havoc with it, of course. We were supposed to meet in person every 3 weeks, then Covid hit, and we met on Zoom for the first year. It was interesting. It was a 2-year course, but they decided to end it about 1-1/2 years in. Luckily, we could take a course from a Virginia diocese to finish up, and I got my Certificate. I reflected on it and thought, man, I liked that a whole lot better than my daily job. So, I looked up Catholic online universities for a Theology Master’s and found out: A) the cheapest and B) the most faithfully orthodox was the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Yeah, that school again.
Well, I did the work, they accepted some previous schooling I had, and I got very good grades. I enjoyed it so much, though it was very stressful and a lot of work, but I felt like I was in an oasis against the madness of our modern a-moral world. The time came to apply for a diploma, and I was very motivated to walk the stage in Ohio, which I did on May 11th. Got my degree!! It was a several-day event, and most of my family came up; they had a very important commencement speaker, and away we go. All copacetic. But what happened next was so shocking and fascinating. The Associates and Bachelors walked the stage first. I was listening and planning what I would do with my future, and I heard this undergrad’s name: “Rebecca Cazzaniga.” Huh? I looked and thought, well, she looks like Kim, could be a relative. It seriously hadn’t sunk in. Finally, towards the end, I thought, “BECCA?” But she is just a baby! I hadn’t taken into account 16 or so years had passed. After the ceremony, I was standing there waiting for my folks in this mass of humanity, but I am one of the tallest. Up runs Vincenzo!! He had heard my name and came looking for me. What a reunion! The Cazzanigas are doing well, living in Florida, both girls graduated from college, and they had 2 boys I didn’t know existed. GOD IS SO GOOD!!
Message from Phil – Thank you Glenn for sharing your story with giveyourstory.com ! Congratulations!
Glenn with, Vincenzo and his wife Kim in below picture:
