By Rhys Lowther
Among the World Youth Day pilgrimages from Melbourne was the Italian Way. Greg Lewis and I participated in this pilgrimage along with a bus of fellow pilgrims, leaders, chaplains and, our head chaplain, Bishop Martin Ashe.
Greg and I would like to express our sincere thanks to all who made this pilgrimage possible. To give you a glimpse into the Italian Way, below are a few chronicles drawn from my journal.
Monday 24 July 2023
We landed in Rome and went out to explore the Eternal City from Piazza Navona … in 39-degree heat! After lunch my group went for a walk to see the Trevi Fountain, the Church of San Ignazio and the Pantheon. We had evening Mass in the Gesu and explored the rooms of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Along with the body of St Ignatius, the Gesu holds the arm of St Francis Xavier. This very hand baptized 700,000 souls! We were all so exhausted by evening that we were falling asleep at the dining tables!
Tuesday 25 July 2023
Explored the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel. I was awestruck by Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. St Peter’s Basilica took everyone’s breath away. The Basilica itself speaks so strongly of the Papacy. Later in the day, we visited St Mary Major to pray before the icon of Salus Populi Romani (WYD icon of Mary) and the tomb of St Pius V. Beneath the altar is the wood from our Lord’s manger at Bethlehem; we sang ‘Away in a Manger’ before the relic. Next we visited the Pope’s Cathedral, St John Lateran and ascended the Scala Sancta (stairs from Pontius Pilate’s palace) on our knees meditating upon the Lord’s passion. We concluded the day with Holy Mass at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, wherein are contained the relics of the passion brought to Rome from Jerusalem by St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine.
Wednesday 26 July 2023
We had a surprise private audience with His Holiness, Pope Francis, in the Casa Santa Martai! This was the highlight of the pilgrimage for me. I was not so much struck by what he was saying, but by who he was: the Rock on which the Church is built. During the audience, I kept repeating to myself some of the Lord’s words to St Peter, the first Pope: You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, etc. After the audience and some happy snaps with the Swiss Guard, we went to see the Colosseum. The reflection on the early Church continued as we went to the Catacombs of St Sebastian via the Church of the Quo Vadis. Fr Joseph Nguyen spoke very powerfully about vocations. We had evening Mass at St Paul Outside the Walls. The day concluded with a talent contest on the rooftop of our hotel! A fun way to spend a warm summer evening on our last night in Rome.
Thursday 27 July 2023
The day began with Holy Mass at St Peter’s Basilica with Archbishop Comensoli. Our pilgrimage then made its way to Assisi. We first spent some time in prayer at the Hermitage of St Francis. The sheer austerity of both the hermitage and the friary built above it struck me. Our next stop was the Church of San Damiano where St Francis heard the voice of our Lord say to him: “Francis, Francis, go and rebuild my house, which as you can see, is falling into ruins!” He famously misunderstood this to mean the little Church of San Damiano, where in fact the Lord was referring to a spiritual renewal of the whole Catholic Church.
Friday 28 July 2023
Visited the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, St Clare, St Francis and visited the body of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Fr Cameron Smith MGL spoke powerfully about Bl. Carlo as an example that holiness is something attainable for us in the present, not simply an ideal for the future. An aspiration for humility at the tomb has stuck with me, “Non io ma Dio – Not I but God.”
On Saturday 29 July, we said arriverderci to Italy as we went on to Fatima and Lisbon!
