Pilgrims from the Diocese of Wilmington got a surprise visitor and 100 copies of this past weekend’s Dialog newspaper that included coverage of their ongoing tour of Italy.
American Airlines pilot Carol Stone, a parishioner at St. Jude church in North East, Md., made a surprise visit to the pilgrimage farewell dinner in Rome on Tuesday evening. Stone was among the flight crew on the trip to Rome and had arranged to return and do the same for the pilgrimage’s return trip.
She also brought back the 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 at the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome.
Pilgrims earlier in Rome visited the relics of the cradle of Jesus, reportedly brought from the Holy Land by St. Helena, at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. They also visited the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace in the Basilica of St Mary Major. Erected during World War I, the Blessed Mother’s gesture indicates her wish for an end of war.
The group also entered four Holy Doors at basilicas and prayed at the tomb of St. Paul in the Basilica of St. Paul Beyond the Walls.
Diocesan communications director and Catholic Forum host Bob Krebs was among the group of pilgrims. He filed photos throughout the trip for The Dialog that can be found at TheDialog.org and on The Dialog’s social media platforms.
More will appear in next week’s newspaper.
