My husband David and I had a wonderful opportunity recently to join a group of 34 Catholics on a 14-day pilgrimage to Northern Italy, Medjugorje and Turin from April 20 to May 3, 2015. We had been to some parts of Italy before, but had never been to Rome, Florence, Pisa and other parts.
We looked forward to going on the trip with Fr. Patrick Moses, St. Irenaeus Church pastor and chaplain along with many parishioners from his church. There were also people from parishes in other cities in Orange County, Los Angeles County and Northern California who joined the pilgrimage. We thought that this pilgrimage would be a once in a lifetime experience for us, and it was truly memorable.
Led by Cypress resident and St. Irenaeus parishioner Ruth Burns. She has organized many different tour groups over the years, and with Fr. Patrick prepared a very interesting itinerary for our pilgrimage.
She arranged for flights for members of our group to travel from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, and then to Rome, Italy, where it started. She also did advance planning for us to travel by bus to the cities of Rome, Florence, Pisa, Ancona, by ferry to Split in Croatia, by bus to Medjugorje in Bosnia, then back to Ancona by ferry, and by bus to Ravenna, Padua, Milan and Turin. The bus traveled with us on both the overnight ferry rides and the tour guides gave us additional information at every city that we visited.
Ruth had prepared a booklet that helped to make each day on our pilgrimage extra special. It listed all the places we would be visiting each day and the chapels or churches where Fr. Patrick or a local priest would be celebrating Mass.
The booklet included Bible readings for each Mass, songs, prayers and litanies. It also had information about members in our group and even included blank pages where people could write their thoughts each day as a personal journal. It was very helpful for us to get to know each other and to keep focused on our prayer lives and the highlights of our pilgrimage.
On our first day in Rome, we visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Basilica of St. John in Lateran and the Holy Stairs. We saw a life-size statue of St. Pope Pius IX and celebrated Mass in the Capella Borghese of the Basilica. At all the Masses during our trip, different people participated in the Bible Readings. I was pleased that David was asked to read the Responsorial Psalm on the first day. It was the first time he ever participated in reading a Psalm at a Mass.
We joined thousands of pilgrims in Vatican City on our second day to see and hear Pope Francis I during his weekly Wednesday morning Papal audience. I was proud to be present to be part of our universal church of people who came from all parts of the world waiting for Pope’s arrival.
When he arrived in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis took the time to ride in his open car many times so people could see him and reach out to him. We heard him speak in Italian with his speech translated in many languages by other priests. He said that he was concerned about today’s marriage and the family, and especially asked for prayer for families. He blessed the grooms and brides who were present dressed in their wedding gowns and suits. For many in our pilgrimage group, seeing and hearing Pope Francis I was the most important part of the pilgrimage.
We were able to see the beautiful artwork in the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, but the crowds of people at both places made it difficult to view and appreciate fully. We could not take any pictures in the Sistine Chapel so many of us bought books about the Chapel and other places in Rome. At the Basilica of St. Peter we saw the final resting place of St. Peter and many of our past Popes, including the incorrupt body of Pope John XXIII. The famous sculpture by Michelangelo, the Pieta by Michelangelo, is in the Basilica of St. Peter. He was the greatest sculptor, artist and architect of the Italian Renaissance.
We had a whirlwind tour of Rome as we drove by bus to the Coliseum and walked near Trajan’s Column, the Capitoline Hill, the Imperial Forum, the Arch of Constantine and the Trevi Fountain. At the end of the day, we toured the Catacombs of Domitilla and celebrated Mass there.
When we reached Florence, we were able to do some sightseeing and shopping, then we traveled to Pisa. It was there that we saw the Baptistry of St. John and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Although the tower is leaning considerably efforts have been made to stabilize it.
After Pisa we took an overnight trip on the ferry Aurelia as we crossed the Adriatic Sea from Ancona to Split in Croatia in order to reach the village of Medjugorje in Bosnia. We were able to hear Vicka, one of six visionaries, all of whom said that the Virgin Mary appeared to them starting in 1981 and still appears to some of them. Vicka said that that Mary’s message was one of peace and that we need to refocus on God and use five “stones” as weapons to defeat Satan. The “stones” are daily praying of the Rosary, Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, daily reading of the Bible, monthly confession and receiving the Eucharist at Holy Mass. Some of our group even climbed Apparition Hill where Mary first appeared to the visionaries. Three sustained some injuries but recovered in a few days.
We then took the ferry Marco Polo overnight from Split to get back to Ancona and then traveled to Ravenna, Padua and Venice. Traveling to Venice via boat we saw the Basilica of St. Mark and St. Mark’s Piazza. Some of us were able to take a gondola ride in the Grand Canal of Venice. After visiting Venice, we returned to Padua to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of St. Anthony.
During the last few days of our trip, we traveled to Milan where we visited the Duomo (Cathedral) of Milan, the third largest church in the world. It was there that we celebrated Mass behind the main altar of the Duomo and also saw the baptismal area underneath the church itself.
On the last day of our tour in Turin, we visited the Duomo of San Giovanni, dedicated to John the Baptist, and the Holy Shroud Chapel. The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be the cloth in which Christ’s body was wrapped after his crucifixion. Owned by the Vatican, the shroud is regarded as a powerful aid to faith. It was last seen in exposition in 2010 and was on display in Turin for a short time in 2015. Some of the members of our group said that they joined this pilgrimage primarily because they wanted to see the Shroud of Turin.
We stopped to see the birthplace of Don Bosco at Castelnuovo d’Asti near Turin on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Bosco was the founder of the Salesian Society of priests that still is active today in educating young men.
We celebrated the final Mass of our pilgrimage at the Capella Pinardi near the Basilica of St. Mary Ausiliatrice in Turin. Everyone joined with Fr. Patrick in blessing and thanking Ruth Burns for planning and doing all the special things she did for us during our pilgrimage. Later that evening at Hotel Record in Turin, we celebrated the end of our pilgrimage by sharing food, wine, gifts and hugs with the Prayer Partners whom we prayed for throughout the trip.
We traveled by bus back to Milan’s airport for our long trip by air to Los Angeles. We were sad to leave Italy, but ready to return to our homes.
During our tour, we visited many basilicas, churches and other places of historic and religious interest. They were all beautifully artistically decorated with sculptures, frescoes, mosaics and ceilings filled with gold inlays. However, I even more impressed with and will always remember the almost daily Masses that Fr. Patrick celebrated and especially his inspirational homilies.
What I remember most of all is what Fr. Patrick said in his homily at the Mass that he celebrated behind the main altar of the Duomo of Milan. He said that he “hoped that the pilgrimage would refresh and renew our faith lives as we returned to our everyday lives,” and that “each of us have special gifts to use to carry out God’s will.” Our pilgrimage to Italy has ended, but the journey of our lives continues as we discover and use our gifts. After our pilgrimage ended, my husband and I do feel renewed in and proud of the Catholic faith that we share with people throughout the world. We hope to continue to use our gifts to carry out God’s will in our daily lives. We pray that God will bless Fr. Patrick, our group leader Ruth Burns and the Prayer Partners that we met and prayed with on our pilgrimage to Italy.