Life From My View
Julie Stephens
A Pilgrimage
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Saint Augustine
In August of this year, fifteen-year-old Peter Loper, a parishioner at St. Rose
of Lima Catholic Church in Lake City, Colorado and about 26 other youth from the
Pueblo Catholic diocese, went on a pilgrimage to Assisi, Rome, Lourdes and Paris
for the jubilee.
The year 2025 is the year of the jubilee because it marks the 1,700th
anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. The council of Nicaea established
agreements about key church issues like baptism, and the Eucharist, but most
importantly, it clarified Jesus' true identity as both God and man and settled
on a creed, the Nicene Creed, that churches, not only Catholic, repeat
throughout the world today.
The centuries-old jubilee tradition is centered around making a pilgrimage to
Rome during the Holy Year 2025 and discovering why Italy is a mainstay of
Catholicism. Perhaps to attend the weekly papal audience and receive the
blessing given by the pope. Pope Leo’s blessing was given in Latin. Speaking
Latin does unify Catholics yet Peter couldn’t help but notice how when Pope Leo
was speaking English, he had an American accent. Being right there, in the midst
of the first American pope, was an exceptionally moving experience for Peter as
an American.
The 2025 Jubilee is centered on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” As His Holiness
the late Pope Francis so beautifully expressed it: "We must fan the flame of
hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and
certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and
far-sighted vision."
Peter said, “this trip has helped me realize how important it is to have God in
your life every day. Before this pilgrimage I went to church on Sundays and holy
days – the bare minimum. But, from my view, this has helped remind me that we
need to make time for God, despite all the distractions, the need to have God in
your life every day.”
Saint Peter is chief among the apostles of Jesus Christ. St. Peter was the first
pope. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy is the burial site of this saint.
Peter Loper, the 21st century pilgrim’s experience on entering St.
Peter’s Basilica: “When I walked into St. Peter’s Cathedral there were a lot of
people, especially since it was the pilgrimage. In a space that big, with so
many people, it was loud. Still there was a reverent silence as people were
trying to spend some time with God and I think it’s important because we
sometimes forget to do that in life.
When I was in St. Peter’s Square there were maybe close to a million people
there – I was trying to get to the edge (of the crowd) and I saw a barricade –
so I just climbed on top of it trying to see (the pope as he passed by).”
In parallel with the celebrations in Rome Italy, Lourdes France plays an
essential role in the 2025 Jubilee. Lourdes has been an important Catholic
shrine and pilgrimage destination since 1858, when the Virgin Mary appeared to
14-year-old peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous.
During the ninth of Bernadette’s eighteen visions at Lourdes, the girl was told
by Our Lady to wash in, and drink water from a freshwater spring Mary revealed
to Bernadette in the grotto. This was in 1858, but the same spring – and the
same spring water – is still to this day a central focus for pilgrims to
Lourdes. Today the spring is visible behind a glass screen in the grotto, and
supplies water to baths and taps in which pilgrims wash and drink. The enduring
flow from the same ground source gives significance to the act of washing and
drinking in the same water as Saint Bernadette.
The town of Lourdes town receives an impressive 5 million pilgrims and visitors
each year, making Lourdes the most visited Christian shrine in the world.
Peter Loper continued to reflect on his pilgrimage, “Lourdes was so interesting
being in St Bernadette’s grotto where the apparition really happened and
experiencing going into where the healings water is.
I hadn’t traveled with my church before. It was a different experience as we had
Mass every day and there was a lot of religious focus for us Catholics. But
there was also just having fun with other kids my age and seeing parts of the
world that I hadn’t seen before.
(When I was there) in St. Peter’s Square there were maybe close to a million
Catholics – Catholic youth, and I think my main takeaway maybe from that and the
whole trip was that I felt a lot closer to other youth, Catholic youth, because
where I live, me and my siblings are the only ones. So, it was a really cool
experience being with the Catholic youth in the square. I wanted to go on this
trip because I thought it would be a great experience to both connect with other
youth of my faith and to experience a lot of the history of the Church. And it
was.”
“For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not
believe, no explanation is possible.” - Franz Werfel, The
Song of Bernadette
“Walks in nature are hugs for my soul.”
Julie A R Stephens
julie@handsbestrong.com