By Pat Murphy

 

So just like that, our Jubilee Year pilgrimage to Rome is over.

 

45 pilgrims left Crosby very early on Friday 7 November to travel to the wonderful city. Our travels went smoothly, and we were able to gather for our first Mass together in the church of St Joachim, very close to our hotel. It was a church I had never visited, and it certainly had the wow factor in frescos and design. This is one of the many things I love about Rome - every visit there is something or somewhere new to see.

 

Over the days of our pilgrimage, we visited the four main Basilicas in Rome and walked through the Holy Door at each. We visited many other churches over the week too, each one breathtaking in its own way. For some of our pilgrims, it was their first visit to Rome - what a feast for their eyes! Of course, the first day included many of the traditional tourist sites of Rome, including a visit to the Trevi Fountain, where each of us threw our three coins in to ensure we will have another visit to the eternal city.

 

So many highlights of the week! A tour and Mass in the chapel of the Venerable English College, arranged by Father James Finnegan. A private Mass in the church with the Swiss guards in Vatican City. Carrying the Cross in our pilgrim Jubilee Walk. Visiting the tombs of the Popes in St Peter’s. A special invitation from Archbishop Sir Paul Gallagher to visit him in the Apostolic Palace, and a gift of a rosary for each pilgrim. The Sunday Angelus in brilliant sunshine, and of course the Papal audience on the Wednesday in St Peter’s Square, when we queued from 7:30am with thousands of pilgrims from all over the world to see the Holy Father. The “Pope mobile” driving around St Peter’s square and the sounds of the crowd, like a football match and pop concert joining together.

 

But my favourite moment of the pilgrimage when we visited the Basilica of St Mary Major. Below the altar is a relic from the Manger of Jesus. I had just come up the stairs from having said a prayer, and a group of French pilgrims descended the staircase opposite. They gathered together to sing Silent Night. For me, that was the most moving, magical moment of the pilgrimage.

 

We had early mornings, we had late nights, and we had tired legs from so much standing and walking. We broke bread together. A group who had never travelled together became good friends over the week.

 

All this and so much more in just six days!