Westwood Student Joins Week of Service in Bosnia

A Westwood resident has taken a week of his summer vacation to help those in need in Bosnia.  

John Allaire of Westwood has joined 17 others from Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury with technology teacher Cris Boyle on a maiden voyage to Bosnia, where they swam in the Adriatic, served local farmers and viewed one of the most popular Catholic pilgrimages in Europe, according to a recent release from Catholic Memorial. 

"This was a great group of students who impressed me by being so open to new experiences," Boyle said in a statement. 

One of five Blessed Edmund Rice Solidarity Initiative (BERSI) trips this year, the Bosnia trip gave students a taste of a lesser-known corner of Europe, Boyle said in a statement, and a glimpse into small-town life in the mountains of a former war-torn country. 

The group walked the ancient-walled city on the Adriatic, beginning in Dubrovnik, and toured the nearby countryside; they also traveled to Makarska, where they swam at one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.

The journey ended in the small town of Medjugorje, where, in 1981, a group of six children are believed to have had visions of the Virgin Mary.

Students also got to know the locals in Bosnia, and ate local fare and learned a few phrases in the local language.