Some 29 pilgrims from Nativity Parish, Fair Haven, and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, recently returned from a pilgrimage to Italy for the Jubilee Year of Hope, including Nativity’s pastor, Father Christopher Picollo, and Our Lady of Good Counsel pastor, Father James Grogan.
Embarking March 24, social media posts revealed a daily account of the group’s activities. Guided by Journey of Faith Tours – owned and operated by Carolyn Norbut, associate director of the Diocese’s Office of Worship – pilgrims had an opportunity to visit many sites of historical and spiritual interest.
Father Grogan began planning for the trip in February 2024, in anticipation of the Jubilee year, inviting Father Picollo to join him as a spiritual director along with his brother, Father Bill Grogan – who sadly passed away unexpectedly in August 2024.
“This is the fourth pilgrimage that I have led or participated in,” Father Grogan reflected. “Each one has a different characteristic, depending on the place and the circumstances. Certainly the whole year as a jubilee makes this year special. With the assistance of Carolyn Norbut … we put together a program that included time spent in Rome, along with Orvieto, Assisi, and Sienna. Rome was chosen for the Jubilee Year, and Assisi and Siena for St. Francis and St. Catharine, respectively, who happen to be favorites of mine!”
Father James Grogan, left, and Father Christopher Picollo concelebrate Mass for their parish pilgrims in Italy. Facebook photos
Father Picollo and Father Grogan concelebrated daily Masses in several of the churches the group visited. Multiple Holy Door experiences were on the itinerary, including passing through the designated doors in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran.
Rome highlights included participation in a Jubilee procession through Piazza Pia to the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica, and visits to St. Peter in Chains Church; the Coliseum; Castle Sant Angelo; the Scala Santa (Sacred Steps) and the Pantheon.
The pilgrims spent time at the Cathedral of Orvieto to view the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena; at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels – site of the first Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi; the tomb of St. Francis and the Church of St. Clare as well as the resting place of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will be canonized April 27, and a sacred art exhibition. Siena offered an opportunity for Mass and a Eucharistic blessing at the Basilica of St. Francis in the Eucharistic Miracle Chapel, and sites associated with St. Catherine of Siena.
“Pilgrims experience a special point during their journey, often one that is an unexpected place,” Father Grogan said. “For me, the most significant impact came in Assisi, as St. Francis is a favorite saint of mine, and it was a place I had never been before.
“A special aspect of the journey included carrying petitions from friends, family and parishioners which were placed on each altar as we celebrated daily Mass,” he continued. “Particular Mass highlights included celebrating Mass at the crypt chapel of St. Francis’ burial, and in Siena at the chapel at the Basilica of San Francisco where the Eucharistic miracle of hosts, stolen and then returned in 1730 have not deteriorated over almost 300 years; at the conclusion of our Daily Mass, Father Chris was able to bless our group with the miraculous hosts in a glass ciborium.”
He noted that some comments from participants on the last day of the pilgrimage “really captured the experience: we finished ‘Part One’ of the pilgrimage with our return, but we also began ‘Part Two,’ where this experience will be shared with family and friends in the months and years ahead. We look forward to a reunion among the pilgrims in about a month, so we can share how each pilgrim is processing this sacred journey.”