Pilgrimage is defined as a purposeful, sacred journey to a holy place or shrine for religious devotion, spiritual renewal or deep reflection.

When the pastor at my church said a pilgrimage was being planned to Italy, I thought this just might be something for me. I have always considered myself a prayerful person. I am involved in various ministries in our parish. But, at this point on my life I am just looking for inner peace and purpose. Perhaps if I concentrated on this, I would find some answers through prayer.

We were a group of 37 which included our pastor. We started in Rome. At the airport we met our tour director, Ambra. She was about the size of a whisper but when she went into director mode she was a human tornado!! This was going to be a very exciting trip.

Our first stop was The Basilica of St Paul. That afternoon was our first mass of the trip celebrated by Father AJ. It was so beautiful!

After that, we checked in at our hotel, Hotel Michelangelo, which was located a couple of blocks from St Peter’s Square. Talk about location, location, location! That night after dinner a group of us walked over to see the Square all lit up. It was jaw-dropping!! I have been to St Peter’s Square on previous trips to Rome but somehow this seemed different to me. The photo on the left was the view from the front door of the hotel.

The next day we celebrated mass at 7:15 AM at the Cappella Polacca Chapel at St Peter’s Basilica. We walked to the Square and queued up for security. Before entering we saw the bronze statue by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. It is titled “Be Welcoming”. This is a perfect example of how everything is from your point of view. Looking from one side it looks like a pauper. From the other side, an angel. The inspiration for the artwork is Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.

We found our way with our guide to the chapel that was reserved for our mass. You know that expression that the journey can be just as interesting as the destination? Well, getting to our Chapel was quite the adventure. Each chapel along the way had masses either going on or getting ready for a group to arrive. When we got to our chapel you could hear voices through the vents of masses going on in a variety of languages. We heard one group softly singing in Spanish and we thought later that day that maybe we needed to “up” our game!!

After mass we got to take in the beautiful architecture and the statuary adorning St Peter’s Basilica. We saw St Peter’s tomb and The Pieta. Magnificent! On to the Vatican shop and the Vatican Museums.

For dinner several of us went to I Quattro Mori with our guide Ambra. We had a very entertaining waiter, a fabulous meal and incredible wine! Great choice!

Day 3, October 7th, we had an audience with Pope Leo XIV. Of course, the audience was shared with a few thousand others, but our guide knew what she was doing in getting us to St Peter’s Square before the day was fully awake and she knew exactly where to get our seats. I could have touched the Pope as he rode by! It was a very emotional experience for me, and I will never forget the feeling I had. I took photos as he approached but when he was right in front of me, I put the phone down so that I was present for that moment. I hope that he noticed my hat! St Peter The Apostle pilgrimage was acknowledged over the loudspeakers as part of the list of pilgrimages there that day.

After the audience we had a little time to ourselves before our afternoon at the basilica of St Mary Major. Here we saw incredible mosaics in the nave depicting scenes from the Old Testament and we would see the tomb of Pope Francis. Father AJ celebrated mass at the Basilica of St Mary Major. After that we visited the Archbasilica of St John Lateran. This Cathedral is known as the “Mater et Caput”, The mother and head of all churches in the world, as it officially became the seat of the Bishop of Rome upon the legalization of Christianity under the Emperor Constantine the Great.

Our day wrapped up with a group dinner at Fieramosca. It was a great way to say arrivederci Roma.

The next day we drove to Assisi. I had been to Assisi in 2002, and it looks EXACTLY the same. Sometimes that could bum you out if things have not changed in 24 years but in this case, I was so glad to feel that it looked the same!

Our first stop was to see the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. After that Father AJ celebrated mass at the Chapel 0f San Bonaventura in the Basilica of St Francis. St Francis has always been one of my favorite Saints. His Prayer for Peace makes me pause whenever I see, hear or think about it. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Imagine if everyone in the world lived by these words?

I think this was my favorite mass on the trip so far.

After mass we went through the basilica of St Francis and saw his tomb. The stained glass and frescoes are so beautiful. These were done by some of the most important artists of the 13th and 14th centuries

I could not keep from looking at the sky. I don’t even know how many photos I took of the clouds! Looks liked Father AJ was checking out the clouds too!

This sky was such a gift. This was the sunset view from the terrace at the hotel. We had a delicious dinner at our hotel tonight, Hotel Giotto.

The next day we drove 2 hours to Montalcino. The ride was enjoyable because the sky continued to entertain me with all of the clouds! Montalcino is usually on the most beautiful towns in Tuscany list.

see the face in the clouds??

We started the day with a walking tour of the town and mass at the Church of Sant’ Egidio

Our afternoon was going to be spent at a vineyard for lunch and wine tasting. We enjoyed our tour, lunch and tasting at Podere Le Ripi. In addition to wine, they also farm honey. Have you ever had honey drizzled on Piccolino cheese? I never have and now I can’t think of anything else!!

After a wonderful day we boarded our bus to continue on to Florence.

We arrived in Florence in time to check into our hotel and go to dinner. Our hotel is The Teatro Luxury apartments. This place was gorgeous. My accommodations for the trip were as a single. My “room” here was a suite-bedroom, living room, dining area, kitchenette. I could have moved in!! The next morning Father AJ celebrated mass at the Franciscan Church of Sana Croce.

After mass and a stop at the Leather school we had lunch on the Piazza Santa Croce and shopped the Saturday market that local vendors set up on the piazza. One could either do more touring and go to the Accademia to see “David” or spend time on our own. My friend Connie and I had been to see David on previous trips to Florence so we opted to shop. I have some favorite places in Florence to shop so we went off on our own and walked all over. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio making stops along the way and found some “treasurers”! We went to Madova Gloves and to one of my favorite stores in the world, Angela Caputi for contemporary jewelry design. We made a gelato stop and a wine stop at Mangia Foco. We had a wonderful day. We walked back to our hotel. We got in quite a few steps today…we walked over 7 miles!! We met up with several others from our group for dinner and I had my favorite thing to eat in Florence, Ribollita!

(Look at my door blog for some beauties I photographed in Florence)

The next day we said goodbye to Firenze and headed to Bologna.

When we arrived, we took a walking tour of this beautiful city of porticoes. We headed to Basilica of St Dominic. This church was so beautiful!! We lucked out because when we got there, they were preparing for the Sunday high mass with the choir. Father AJ was going to join them in celebrating mass. This was such a wonderful experience because it was all in Italian and the choir, of course, was singing in Italian. Didn’t matter that it was in another language, the mass is the mass, and we gave our responses in English. An amazing aside was when it was Father AJ’s turn, he read it in Italian. We were all very impressed!!

After mass we walked around Bologna and found a place for lunch. I HAD TO HAVE Bolognese since I was in Bologna so that was what I ordered for lunch. And yes, Bolognese in Bologna is Delicious!

After lunch we went to the Fountain of Neptune and were entertained by tightrope walkers over the Piazza del Nettuno.

After enjoying the day, we left Bologna and headed to Mestre where we would spend the night because of the easier access to the airport in Venice. We had a really nice farewell dinner at the hotel. We lingered for drinks and spent time with friends we knew previously and new friends made on the trip.

It is hard to put into words what this trip meant to me. I felt so much more connected to my faith than I ever have. I wish that Tom was with me on this trip. But I think he was! There are always signs that I get from him…hearts in the cappuccino that lasted for the whole time I was drinking it, feathers on the ground. I hope that he enjoyed the trip as much as I did. I feel like I have found some inner peace and I will continue to find purpose in my life.

I hope that you have enjoyed traveling with me. Take a look at my Doors of Italy Blog!