Parish Pilgrimage to Rome

Canon John and the pilgrims journeying with him to Rome travel from Cardiff to Bristol Airport on Monday for the flight to Rome and transfer to their hotel. On Tuesday, the pilgrims will visit the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral Church of the archdiocese of Rome, for Mass. They will then visit the Scala Sancta, the Basilica of St Mary Major, the Church of Perpetual Help and the Basilica of St. Paul’s outside the Walls. On Wednesday the pilgrims will attend the weekly Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square and will then be free to visit the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, or St. Peter’s Basilica before attending Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. On Thursday, the pilgrims will visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, for 16 years the Cardinalate Church of the deceased Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, for Mass, followed by a walking tour of the historical centre taking in the Spanish Fountain, the Pantheon and Plaza Navona. On Friday, the pilgrims depart from Rome for the journey to Assisi where they will celebrate Mass in the Basilica of St. Francis. On Saturday, the pilgrims will visit the Basilica of St. Clare, the Church of St. Mary Major, where the Blessed Carlo Acutis’ intact body can be seen, before a guided visit of the Basilica of St. Francis. The pilgrims will again celebrate Mass in the Basilica of St Francis.

Next Sunday the pilgrims will celebrate Sunday Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angel followed by the opportunity to visit the Porziuncola — the small church inside the Basilica where the Franciscan movement started. They will then visit the monastery at San Damiano, which was the first monastery of the order of St. Clare. Sunday will be a free afternoon in Assisi. Next Monday, the pilgrims will travel to Rome for the flight back to Bristol, returning to Cardiff for the evening. Please keep Canon John and the parish pilgrims in your prayers during this week, as they will be praying for the parish and all the parishioners during their visit to the sacred sites.