Nine-day Jubilee Year pilgrimage to Italy is scheduled for late September
By Elizabeth Landry
Staff writer
An often repeated (maybe trite) saying tells us “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Perhaps no other experience exemplifies this idea more clearly than a pilgrimage.
Father Charles Vavonese, weekend associate at Holy Cross Church in DeWitt, has completed about 10 pilgrimages to holy sites over the years, but he recalled a pilgrimage he took with Bishop Harrison during the 1983 Holy Year that was particularly poignant for him. After the pilgrimage was over, a woman came to him and told him she had lost her sister in a car crash not long before the pilgrimage began.
“[She] said ‘… I was so angry at God. And as a result of being on this pilgrimage, I’ve been able to heal. I’ve been able to understand … that I can let my sister go and have come to peace with her death,’” Father recounted.
He went on to explain that this type of occurrence, though not always as striking, has happened in connection with every pilgrimage he’s attended. Father attributes the profound effect of pilgrimages to pilgrims’ intense focus on Jesus, encountering masterful art and architecture inspired by the tradition of faith, and members of the group sharing their faith with each other along the journey.
“Being with other people, praying with them, walking with them, and going into so many churches, you get a sense of the Divine. You get a sense of being in God’s presence … you just get that sense of the Holy. And it may not be on your consciousness all the time, but it’s always kind of surrounding you with grace.”
Becoming ‘Pilgrims of Hope’
Fr. Vavonese has organized a pilgrimage to Rome, Assisi and San Giovanni that will take place later this year, from Sept. 17-25. For Catholics, making a pilgrimage during this Jubilee Year carries extra significance, as the theme of Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope,” encouraging the faithful to make a pilgrimage to holy sites as they are able during the year.
The pilgrimage with Fr. Vavonese includes visits to many Italian churches and holy locations, such as the four major basilicas in Rome – St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Peter – and participants can pass through the Holy Doors at each. Fr. Vavonese explained the significance of entering through the Holy Doors, which also grants pilgrims a plenary indulgence.
“In St. John’s Gospel, Jesus says ‘I am the gate,’ so it’s a very powerful way of emphasizing that … the pilgrim enters into the life of Jesus in a special way … and there is also an indulgence for the remission of the temporal pain of sin, and the popes have been very generous.”
During a full-day trip to Assisi, pilgrims can visit the church where Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb is on display, along with several of his relics. For Kathy Kotz, parishioner at Holy Cross and facilitator of loaning out the 169 Blessed Carlo Acutis panels to other parishes, this excursion is a primary reason for her plan to attend the pilgrimage.
“I think we at Holy Cross just really feel a connection because we’ve been praying for his sainthood for a couple of years now, and it’s like he’s part of our family,” she said. Blessed Carlo is scheduled to be canonized on April 27 of this year, during the Jubilee of Teenagers, and so he will be a canonized saint when the pilgrimage takes place.
Pilgrims will also be attending the Sunday Angelus with the Holy Father at the Vatican in St. Peter’s Square and spending a couple of days at the San Giovanni Rotondo. Experiencing the Pope say the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square is a particular highlight for Fr. Vavonese. “We will do some shopping and bring [our] articles, listen to the Pope at the Angelus and receive his blessing and have the articles blessed,” he said.
‘For the honor and glory of God’
Sometimes, people think of pilgrimages as vacations, but Father emphasized that a pilgrimage is not a vacation, but rather more like a spiritual exercise.
“People go on vacations, people go on trips, and there’s not a real sense of community. They’re kind of sojourners together. However, on a pilgrimage, people connect. Their sense of community, their sense of caring, the fact that we have so much in common, they really connect … they really become one. They definitely see that this isn’t just a vacation.”
He also pointed out that the beautiful, moving art and architecture found throughout the holy sites takes on more meaning than one might find on just a regular trip or vacation, because it is rooted in the tradition of faith. “Michaelangelo and all the [artists], they didn’t just paint … they had such faith that they were moved to design these wonderful things, and paint and sculpt as an expression of their faith …they did this work for the honor and glory of God.”
The cost of the nine-day pilgrimage includes roundtrip airfare from Syracuse to Rome, private motorcoach transportation, four-star hotel accommodations, breakfast and dinner served daily, dedicated service from a tour manager, daily Rosary, devotions and Mass, opportunities for Confession and spiritual direction, and more.
For more information about the pilgrimage or to sign up, contact Canterbury Pilgrimages at 1-800-653-0017 or visit the pilgrimage website at https://www.canterburypilgrimages.com/tour/9313/.
Italy or France… or both? Father Joseph Scardella is organizing a pilgrimage to holy sites in France that’s planned for October. Read more below.
A Seine River Cruise to France
plus an optional extension to Lourdes with Fr. Joseph Scardella
Including Chartres, Lisieux, Honfleur, Normandy Beaches, Rouen, Giverny and Paris
Dates: Oct. 8-17 with an optional extension to Lourdes Oct. 17-21
For more information, contact Select International Tours at 800-842-4842; [email protected] or visit selectinternationaltours.com
