Javier

Simone Benjamin said it best in her final paper, "Once I was able to understand the man behind the town, I was given a better understanding of the town behind the man."

Like Matt who researched the small town of Loyola, Simone also had difficulties researching because (1) Javier is so small -- only 150 inhabitants -- and (2) because her knowledge of Spanish is limited.

In her slides, she tried to get to the heart of Javier as well as "the spirit of Navarre".

Some other highlights from her paper include the following comments:

* Javier has become a place where greatness spews from its vines because of their pride and faith which lies in one Saint.

* He was born in the castle the size of most individuals' neighborhoods.

* Legend has it that on the day of his death a Gothic statue of the saint sweated in the castle where he was born.

* During his missionary work in India, the clash of cultures (monotheistic / polytheistic religion) was something Javier discusses at length in his writings.

* Inside the castle one can find the only depiction of the dance of death in Spain. the Dance depicts two skeletons and a passage or a door into an after life. For me it symbolized our continuous struggle in life and how our choices can have serious consequences if we are not careful.