A group of 115 people from the Diocese of Wilmington spent 10 days capturing memories that will last a lifetime after the Jubilee Year pilgrimage to Italy led by Bishop William E. Koenig.
The Dialog and thedialog.org provided ongoing coverage of the trip as Bob Krebs, diocese communications director and host of Catholic Forum Radio program/podcast traveled as part of the group and provided photos, video and notes for online publication along the way.
The trip began Oct. 26 at Philadelphia International Airport when the group met American Airlines pilot Carol Stone, a dedicated Catholic and parishioner of St. Jude’s Church in North East, Md. Stone was part of the flight crew for the pilgrims and has been to shrines, basilicas and so many religious destinations across the world.
The group led by Bishop Koenig included five other priests and toured Rome, Assisi, Manoppello, San Giovanni Rotondo and more on the excursion. Highlights of the trip included the tombs of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Carlo Acutis, the Basilica of St. Rita, the Sanctuaries of the Holy Face and Eucharistic Miracle, the Monastery Shrine of Padre Pio, the Monastery of St. Benedict and the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel, as well as the usual holy places in Rome and the Vatican.
The first day in Italy included a bus tour through the Umbrian countryside, the “green heart of Italy.” They arrived in Orvieto where they visited the Cathedral of Orvieto, housing the Corporal of Bolsena, preserved in a reliquary.
They attended a concelebrated Mass in the cathedral before continuing on to Assisi.
After an early Mass in one of the chapels of the Basilica of Saint Francis, pilgrims experienced guided tours of the Basilica of Saint Francis, the Basilica of Saint Clare, and the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the location of the tomb of one of Catholicism’s most recent saints, Carlo Acutis.
The pilgrims enjoyed clouds and sun, high temperatures of 70 degrees in Pescara and Manoppello Oct. 30 and on most of the trip as the Diocese of Wilmington jubilee pilgrimage continued its pleasant trip through Italy.
The Sanctuary of the Holy Face in Manoppello offered pilgrims a view of the cloth containing the image of Jesus’ face. From there they headed to Lanciano to visit the Sanctuary of the Eucharistic Miracle, followed by Mass. They later went to San Giovanni Rotondo, home of Padre Pio.
They then made their way to Lanciano, site of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, the afternoon of Oct 30.
After Mass celebrated by Bishop Koenig and the priests, pilgrims watched an introductory video before visiting the ornate monstrance that contains the host that was changed into cardiac muscle and the crystal goblet that contains the coagulated blood that was originally wine. This is the first Eucharistic miracle and took place in the eighth century.
On the feast of All Saints, the pilgrims rode the motorcoach to Montecassino, a small town that contains the monastery of Saint Benedict, the Patr Patron Saint of Europe and the founder of western monasticism.
The wonders of Rome highlighted the day Nov. 3. Pilgrims entered St. Peter’s Basilica through the Holy Door during this jubilee year. Among the events of the day was Mass in front of the tomb of St. Peter.
Bishop Koenig was interviewed in St. Peter’s Square by Carol Glatz, the newly named chief of the Rome bureau of the Catholic News Service.
The bishop was asked about the significance of the trip during the Holy Year.
“Yesterday, on All Souls Day, we went to the Church of St. Joseph’s for our Pilgrim Mass,” Bishop Koenig said. “And it was a moment, really, where it was a parish church, and St. Joseph, who we oftentimes pray to for a happy death, he is very much prominently displayed behind the altar there.
“So it was just a very wonderful setting for us to gather and especially pray for our beloved who have passed before us.”
The group visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where after entering through their third Holy Door, they had Mass. They then visited Holy Steps believed to be the actual ones that Jesus climbed when he was sentenced to death.
Pilot Stone had arranged to return and be part of the flight crew on the pilgrimage’s return trip to Philadephia. She also brought back with her the latest edition of te diocese biweekly newspaper, which Dialog editors had arranged to be delivered to Stone while she was home last week so she could bring back copies of last week’s edition with her photograph on the cover. Pilgrims were seen reading their local newspaper while awaiting their flight home at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome.
