Archdiocesan pilgrimage to include
audience with Pope Benedict XVI
Note: all spaces on this pilgrimage have been reserved
By Mary Ann Wyand
A papal audience with Pope Benedict XVI and an opportunity to pray at Pope John Paul II’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica are among the highlights of an archdiocesan pilgrimage to Rome and Tuscany on Oct. 3-11 that will be led by Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general and pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis.
“What a perfect time to visit Rome,” Msgr. Schaedel said of the archdiocesan pilgrimage to Italy this fall.
“The eyes of the world have been focused on Vatican City these past weeks,” he said in a letter promoting the pilgrimage. “And we have the opportunity to be there in October. Months ago, when we made plans for this pilgrimage to Rome and Tuscany, we had no idea how timely it would be. Providence never fails!”
The pilgrimage begins and ends in Rome, the eternal city.
“To begin our trip, we will have the rare opportunity to pray at the tomb of our beloved Pope John Paul II,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “We will also have a papal audience. We will be among the first pilgrims to greet our new Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI .”
After visiting the major basilicas and other significant religious sites in Rome as well as touring Vatican City and its world-famous museum, the pilgrims will journey to Siena, Florence and Assisi.
“Siena is the most charming town I’ve ever visited,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “Florence is breathtaking [and] the artwork there is some of the most beautiful in the world. Assisi, the home of St. Francis, cannot be described in words.”
Carolyn Noone, associate director of special events for the archdiocese, has worked with Msgr. Schaedel and Grueninger Tours to make the pilgrimage to Rome and Tuscany memorable for Catholics in central and southern Indiana.
“Because of the tremendous love that people had for Pope John Paul II and how saddened we were at his death, it will be wonderful to go and pay our last respects at his tomb in the lower level of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican,” Noone said. “And, at the same time, we will celebrate a joyous audience with the new Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI .”
The pilgrimage will also be memorable, Noone said, because Pope John Paul II designated October 2004 to October 2005 as the Year of the Eucharist.
“In Siena, in the Church of St. Francis, are 230 hosts that are approximately 250 years old,” she said. “It is a eucharistic miracle because the hosts are as fresh today as they were on the day they were consecrated.”
The miracle dates back to Aug. 14, 1730, when the priests were gone and thieves entered the church then stole the consecrated hosts. Several days later, a priest found some of the hosts protruding from the offering box and they were recovered.
“That is a very important place for us to visit,” Noone said, “especially during the Year of the Eucharist.”
She said the experience of going on pilgrimage to holy places is life-changing for Catholics.
“We live on faith through our Church,” Noone said. “When we are permitted to go to a place such as Assisi, where St. Francis walked and preached—and people followed him and listened to his words—and we are actually there walking in the footsteps of this holy saint, it changes our lives forever.
“To see St. Peter’s Basilica, and to know that the grave of St. Peter is several levels down under that church, is awesome,” she said. “In Florence, the architecture is positively breathtaking.”
Noone said the pilgrims will depart from Indianapolis International Airport on Oct. 3 for an overnight transatlantic flight to Rome.
On Oct. 4, the pilgrimage begins with Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome’s fourth great patriarchal church, believed to have been constructed over the tomb of St. Paul.
From there, the pilgrims will tour the Christian catacombs, the underground burial places of early Christians dating back to the second century. After the persecutions in the mid-300s, the catacombs became shrines of the martyrs and a pilgrimage destination.
On Oct. 5, the pilgrims will attend a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square, where they will see Pope Benedict XVI .
Following the audience, they will tour St. Peter’s Basilica, pray at the tomb of Pope John Paul II, and view Michelangelo’s Pietà as well as artwork by Raphael, Bramante, Peruzzi and Sangallo the Younger, four of Italy’s greatest artists, who died while working on the construction of this version of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Next, the pilgrims will tour the Vatican Museum to see its extensive collection of historic religious art, frescoes and statuary as well as the magnificent Sistine Chapel, where the cardinals met in April to elect the new pope.
Following Mass, the pilgrims will enjoy an afternoon of touring other favorite places in Rome.
On Oct. 6, the pilgrims will travel through the Tuscany region to the town of Siena, the home of St. Catherine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. They also will participate in a Mass at the famed cathedral, visit the 14th-century Gothic Baptistery then enjoy a walking tour of the Piazza del Campo, where famed horse races are held, and other unique sites.
From Siena, the pilgrims will tour Florence on Oct. 7, beginning with the Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s famous statue of David. They also will visit the Duomo and its Baptistry with the Golden Doors, the Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti and Giotto’s Bell Tower.
A walking tour along the Piazza della Signoria will feature a visit to the Gothic Santa Croce Church, which is known for its tombs and markers commemorating Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini and other famous people in history.
The pilgrims will have an opportunity to shop in Florence, a city known for its leather and gold artistry and fancy printed papers.
On Oct. 8, the pilgrims will begin a two-day stay in the Umbrian valley, where they will tour Assisi and visit St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, which is actually two churches, and the site of the tomb of St. Francis. The Gothic upper basilica was built a half-century after the Romanesque lower basilica, which have been restored following the earthquake in May 1997.
The pilgrims also will visit Santa Chiara Church, which houses the body of St. Clare and the crucifix that inspired St. Francis to a life of piety. They also will view the Carceri Hermitage in the mountains, where St. Francis and his followers spent time in prayer.
On Oct. 9, the pilgrims will return to Rome to visit the Colosseum, ancient Rome’s most famous monument, and the Roman Forum. The Colosseum was declared sacred by the Church because many Christians were martyred there.
On Oct. 10, the pilgrims will see Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four patriarchal churches.
Also that day, the pilgrims will visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Sacred Steps, which were moved from the Holy Land to Rome by St. Helen. For years, people have prayed as they moved up each step on their knees.
The pilgrimage ends with a drive by the famous Trevi Fountain, where pilgrims will have an opportunity to toss coins in the water to symbolize a return visit to Rome someday.
(The archdiocesan pilgrimage to Rome and Tuscany on Oct. 3-11 costs $2,568 per person for double occupancy and $2,966 for single occupancy. The pilgrimage includes round-trip, economy-class air transportation, deluxe air-conditioned and restroom-equipped motor coach transportation in Italy, first-class hotels in Italy for seven nights, a buffet breakfast daily, five dinners, sightseeing per the trip itinerary, daily Mass and local English-speaking tour guides. For more information, call Carolyn Noone at 317-236-1428 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1428.) †