By Ian Vergel
Joining young adults in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, seminarians Nicolas Calandra, Dominic Lawes, Cameron Ryan, Xavier Ryan, Andrew Tran, Ian Vergel, and John Vespa were blessed to be a part of the “Footsteps of Jesus” pilgrimage.
Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land began by us making our way to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem, the place where Mary greeted Elizabeth and recited the Magnificat, a cave in the Shepherd’s Field to commemorate the appearance of the angels to the shepherds, and the Church of the Nativity. This was my personal highlight since it housed the Holy Manger of the actual birthplace of Jesus. In addition, the church also contained St Jerome’s Cave where it is said that St Jerome spent his time translating the scriptures from Hebrew into Greek and Latin.
After Bethlehem we made our way to the tranquil Sea of Galilee spending the next few days in the city of Tiberias. Our time here was spent looking at the formative years of Jesus and his public ministry. We visited Nazareth and attended a tour which aimed at providing insights into village life during Jesus’ time, the Basilica of the Annunciation where tradition has it that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, and the Wedding Church at Cana. Here we experienced a recently married couple on our group, Lucas and Bridget Nardella, exchange their marriage vows.
During our time in Galilee we also visited surrounding sites such as:
· Caesarea Philippi, the place where Jesus said to Peter “who do you say that I am?”
· Capernaum
· The Church of the Beatitudes where the famous Sermon on the Mount was proclaimed
· The site of the miracle of the five loaves and two fish,
· The church where Jesus challenged Peter, “Do you really love? Feed my sheep”
· Mt Tabor and the Church of the Transfiguration where the Transfiguration took place.
Furthermore, we also visited a number of significant sites in the Bible, including Caesarea Maritima, Jericho, the ancient sycamore tree, the Jordan River and the baptismal site of Jesus, the Stella Maris Monastery at Mount Carmel, and the Dead Sea.
This time in the Holy Land was culminated by our trip to Jerusalem. Jerusalem saw us visit the Pater Noster Church at the Mount of Olives where Jesus taught his disciples the “Our Father” and the Dominus Flevit Church where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Afterwards, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Agony. We then travelled to the Church of St Anne, the birthplace of Mary and then towards Mt Zion to visit the upper room and the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, the place where Peter denied Jesus three times. Located near to this church are the Holy Steps which is known with certainty as the path which Jesus took on his way to Gethsemane.
Our final day in Jerusalem began with the Stations of the Cross along the actual Via Dolorosa, the same steps our Lord took towards Calvary. We then concluded our trip at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which holds the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and the tomb of his resurrection. This was for many in our group the pinnacle of their pilgrimage.
PHOTOS: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne