The Catholic pilgrims in Rome arrived home this past Thursday, November 13 after 10 amazing days of pilgrimage in the Eternal City, Rome, with a day trip to Assisi! We give thanks to Almighty God for His protection and instruction during this time (we learned a lot!) . . . and for all the new friends we met!
We thank our Lord for the following people he brought into our lives while in Italy and ask for His abundant blessings upon them and their families:
Alessandro (Alex) who was our constant companion from 206 Tours (and Italian guardian angel) in Italy; below is Alex (right) with Brother David Spillane, a seminarian with the Legionaries of Christ in Rome (referenced later):
Titiana, who guided us through many of the Roman sites on our itinerary; in the photo below, Titiana is on the right with Lynne Hanlon on the left.
The hotel staff at Il Cantico (housekeeping, front desk, bar, and kitchen) who took such good care of this large group of Americans with little to no knowledge of Italian! The food that we were served during our stay was authentic Italian food and was outstanding, and the capuccino served in the bar was beyond compare! I think I had at least one every day!
I don't have any overall photos of the hotel staff, but I can show you one of the capuccinos made in the hotel bar! Beautiful, isn't it? I know I wasn't the only pilgrim who enjoyed this special drink and picker-upper . . . Fr. Chris, Ruth Callahan, and many others were known to partake on a regular basis during our stay!
We thank God for Mary Johnston, who tirelessly went the extra mile for everyone in organizing, planning, leading, etc. -- and all this while being the victim of lost luggage! Mary didn't let this get her down, and instead, saw it as an opportunity to go shopping in Rome! Below is Mary Johnston on the left with Fr. Mike Phillips on the right.
A special thanks and blessing goes out to our faithful priests (Fr. Chris Podhajsky, Fr. Mike Phillips) and part-time Rome-based seminarian (part-time with us at least - Brother David Spillane) who made the trip and especially the liturgies a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth and appreciation of our Catholic faith and roots! Brother David also shared his knowledge and love of the Catholic Faith with us on numerous occasions.
From left to right celebrating Mass ("ad orientem") at the tomb of Pope St. John Paul II: Fr. Chris, Fr. Mike, Fr. Brian Dellaert (former associate pastor at St. Jude's in CR . . . now studying canon law in Rome), and Brother David, serving at the altar. Fr. Brian joined us on several occasions during the pilgrimage, which was awesome!
From left to right: Fr. Mike, Fr. Chris, and Fr. Brian - celebrating Mass at the Basilica of Gregorio Septimo (Gregory VII):
To my knowledge, we were all spared serious illness (other than swollen ankles, blisters, and fatigue) and theft of any kind! We all made it through airport Customs . . . with some taking longer than others . . . but making it out safely on the other end! Travel in both directions was without any serious snag or delay . . . except for the delayed final flight home from Chicago to CR, but that was a minor inconvenience.
When we arrived home in CR, Sister Susan (far right) had a welcoming committee waiting for her . . . all the way from Davenport! Fellow pilgrim from Davenport, Sharon Kieffert, is second from the left.
And to all of you following this blog -- thank you for your invaluable and much-needed prayers!
Well friends -- I'm not finished blogging about this pilgrimage quite yet -- I have a few more highlights to blog about (I fell behind in the final days), so stay tuned!
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