Catholic Educators Pilgrimage Participants Reunite

Graces of a summer pilgrimage and friendships were renewed this past Christmas break as teachers from around the country gathered at Saint Cecilia Motherhouse for a reunion hosted by Aquinas College. These teachers traveled together to France and Italy on a pilgrimage for educators this past June. They experienced the richness of Catholicism as they prayed together in beautiful Churches, shared meals, memories, and convictions; walked in the footsteps of the Saints and even looked into the eyes of the Holy Father, Pope Leo, at a Wednesday audience!

In recounting the pilgrimage six months later one teacher shared at the reunion, “I thought I was just going on a trip – I didn’t know it would change my life! She continued to share that she knew from the start of the pilgrimage that this would be different than ordinary travel. She was alluding to the shared mission and desire of the fellow pilgrim-educators to deepen in their faith.

Led by Sister Mary Rachel Capets, O.P., the Director of the Aquinas College Pilgrimage Program, and joined by Father Conor McDonough, OP from Ireland serving as chaplain, the pilgrims began their journey in Lourdes, France where they prayed with thousands of pilgrims and deepened their devotion to the rosary. Next, they traveled through southern France, in the footsteps of Saint Dominic, the location of the foundation of the Dominican Order. After traveling through France they made their way to Italy where they enjoyed a time of retreat in Bracciano, outside of Rome, and visited several Churches in Rome. They concluded their pilgrimage with a Wednesday audience where they had a chance to pass along to the Holy Father cards made by their students and promises of prayers. They renewed their devotion to Jesus Christ and His Church as they walked through the Holy Doors of Saint Peter’s Basilica, finding in this a new strength and vigor to return home to their families and their communities. They recounted these graces with joy at their reunion and found the graces deepening even as they shared them.