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The sights and sounds of an Italian pilgrimage
Deacon Carl Calcara Jr. of Sunbury St. John Neumann Church says the sights and sounds of a recent pilgrimage to Italy will never be forgotten by the 23 young people and adults from the parish who took part in the experience.
“In all the churches we toured, architecture, art, and the Catholic religion flowed in one seamless theme and became one,” he said. “That was true in everything we experienced and saw. The art, architecture and relics brought the gospels to life. All of what we experienced and saw was God’s word speaking to each one of us as individuals.”
The pilgrims left Columbus on June 21 and returned in the early hours of July 3. The church’s pastor, Father David Sizemore, celebrated four Masses during the journey, with Deacon Calcara assisting.
Father Sizemore, who has studied in Rome, designed the trip and made the pilgrims realize that “our Catholic faith is the history in these Italian cities,” said Tina Burtch, parish youth minister.
Father Sizemore celebrated the first Mass of the pilgrimage at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, where the pilgrims took a gondola ride. They then went to Florence, where they attended Father Sizemore’s Mass at the city’s cathedral, the Duomo, saw Michelangelo’s famed statue of David, and visited the Uficci museum and the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo.
Deacon Calcara said the most memorable part of the trip for him was the group’s visit to Assisi and its Basilica of St. Francis, where he delivered the homily at a Mass celebrated by Father Sizemore. “We were in awe and inspired by the saints, but (I said in the homily) that each one of us in our own right is a saint,” he said. “We are saints, being inspired by God’s word, and then our actions reflect his word.”
The pilgrims spent four days in Rome, visiting the tombs of St. Philip, St. James, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Paul, St. Peter, and Pope John Paul II, the Sistine Chapel, and the basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major. They also went to the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, where parts of Christ’s cross and the nails from it are kept.
One of the most memorable stops for both Deacon Calcara and Burtch was the Holy Stairs, which were brought from Pilate’s Praetorium in Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, the first Roman ruler to recognize Christianity. All members of the group took part in the tradition of climbing the 28 stairs on their knees.
A highlight for everyone was a papal audience on June 30 at the Vatican. “They announced our name and Pope Benedict XVI waved at us,” Burtch said. “We felt like rock stars.”
“We all stood and cheered like our team just won the World Series,” Deacon Calcara added. He said seeing the pope “gave you goosebumps. … Even sitting in the sweltering sun for four hours couldn’t change that.”
Young people on the pilgrimage participated in the readings and the responsorial psalms at all the Masses. In addition, all the pilgrims received the Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Peter’s Basilica, where Father Sizemore also celebrated Mass. |