Rome experience is once-in-a-lifetime trip for Paulist pilgrims

Pope Benedict XVI greets Paulist president Father John F. Duffy.

by Stefani Manowski

The word “pilgrimage” may conjure up images from the Canterbury Tales or robe-clad monks singing Gregorian chant. Although quite different, the Paulist 150th Anniversary Pilgrimage: Hecker Week in Rome was a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey filled with prayer, fellowship and the guiding energy of the Holy Spirit. Thirty Paulist priests, lay associates, collaborators and friends made this holy excursion together March 1-7, just in time to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Nuper Nonnulli, the Vatican decree that paved the way for the formation of the Paulist Fathers given by Pope Pius IX on March 6, 1858. Pilgrims came from Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Austin, Boston and other points in the U.S. gatherede to walk in the footsteps of Father Hecker in Rome. Here some of what the pilgrims experienced:

Day I: The journey begins

Hecker Week in Rome Pilgrims on their first visit to Santa Susanna, the Roman parish run by the Paulist Fathers that was the site of St. Susanna's house and her martyrdom.

Most of the pilgrims arrived in Rome a day early, and had the chance to get rested for their spiritual adventure that began today. At lunchtime, the 30 pilgrims gathered at Santa Susanna for an introduction to the pilgrimage.

“Pilgrimage means leaving behind all that is familiar and going to another place to find God,” said Father Paul G. Robichaud, C.S.P., pilgrimage facilitator and former pastor of Santa Susanna. “You can be a pilgrim or you can be a spiritual tourist, going to holy places and snapping pictures. Either one is perfectly fine. Being a pilgrim is hard, but you will take home much more with you than pictures.”

The pilgrims then walked a few blocks to Santa Maria degli Angeli to join the parents of children in Santa Susanna's faith formation program for talks on the life of Father Hecker and his trips to Rome given by Father Robichaud. After a brief respite, the Paulist residence hosted hors d'ouerves before a spectacular four-course meal at a neighborhood restaurant.

Day II: Celebrating 150 Years of Paulist Ministry

Hecker Week in Rome Pilgrims on their first visit to Santa Susanna, the Roman parish run by the Paulist Fathers that was the site of St. Susanna's house and her martyrdom.

Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and former archbishop of San Francisco, was the main celebrant of the Paulist 150th Anniversary Mass at Santa Susanna. The beautifully ornate church, featuring dazzling frescoes which tell the tragic story of the martyrdom of St. Susanna, was filled to capacity.

During the homily, Cardinal Levada reminded the congregation of the thousands of American residents and visitors to Rome to whom the Paulists have ministered to since being assigned this pastoral ministry by Pope Benedict XV in 1922, and of Father Hecker's vision for the church in America.

“At the same time Father Hecker received his dispensation from his orders as a Redemptorist, he received a new commitment to evangelize his native country during the uncertain times preceding the Civil War and anti-Catholicism as waves of Catholic immigrants from Europe came to America,” he said.

“Father Hecker had a vision of a nation under God, a nation where faith and reason were understood and lived,” Cardinal Levada continued. “He was a man who anticipated the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. May we all be enriched by the example and zeal of Father Isaac Hecker. May we offer gratitude for the service and prayerful support for the work of the Paulist Fathers.”

Day III: Walking in Father Hecker's Footsteps in Rome

The Basilica of St. Mary Major was the first stop on this day, where pilgrims had the opportunity for individual confession during a penance service in one of the basilica's chapels presided by Monsignor George Dobes, a friend of the Paulists.

“I am glad we had the chance for individual confession,” said Mary Berwick, a Paulist Associate from the Paulist parish of St. Austin in Austin, Tex. “It really started the pilgrimage out on the right foot.”

The pilgrims went to the opposite side of the basilica to celebrate Mass in which the icon “Salus Populi Romani” (health of the Roman people) is found. After being expelled from his vows as a Redemptorist priest, a distraught and devastated Father Hecker went the few blocks from the Redemptorist headquarters and prayed in front of the icon for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to what to do next.

Then it was on to where the action happened – the Redemptorist house. Welcomed with great hospitality and affection, a group of the Redemptorist priests in residence took the Paulist pilgrims on a tour of the house, participated in a prayer service with them and hosted a delightful array of refreshments.

At the end of the pilgrim's time there, Father Robichaud recalled that the last words of Father Hecker to the Redemptorist provincial were to request his blessing. Father Robichaud did the same.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran was the final stop of the day, where the pilgrims saw the baldacchino with golden statues of St. Peter and St. Paul that are supposed to contain the heads of the respective saints.

Day IV: St. Paul Day

Father Kenneth Boyack, C.S.P., and his Paulist brothers celebrate Mass in the chapel in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's tomb and Pope John Paul's tomb were just a few feet away.

The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was a highlight of many of the pilgrims' Roman experiences. The majestic collonade reveals a giant statue of St. Paul that immediately connected the pilgrims to their Paulist roots. Inside, some Santa Susanna parishioners joined the group for Mass in one of the side chapels celebrated by Paulist president Father John F. Duffy.

Paulist pilgrims walk up to the chapel at Tre Fontane, where St. Paul is believed to have been beheaded.

“The spirit of St. Paul, his example of faith, lives on with us here today,” he said during the homily. “This legacy of faith continues to nourish and enrich us.”

A few minutes away is the garden-like area known as Tre Fontane, the site of the execution of St. Paul. From the main entrance, a picturesque tree-lined path beckoned the pilgrims to the white chapel built on the site. Honoring the request for silence, the pilgrims went into the chapel to pray, many staying for almost 30 minutes in the holy place.

After a quick lunch, the pilgrims were off to St. Peter's Basilica for a private tour of the archaeological excavations underneath the mammoth mother church of all Catholicism.

Two seminarians at the North American College each guided half the group through the narrow pathways, the air heavily perfumed by the surrounding earth. The pilgrims walked down ancient street-like conduits, peering into the grand mausoleums build by the wealthy, privileged families of ancient Rome. The pinnacle of the tour could almost go unnoticed, but is the biggest spiritual prize of the experience – a small plastic box containing the bones of St. Peter placed in the grapefruit-sized hole in an ancient wall where they were found in the 1940s. The location is directly under the main altar of the basilica.

Day V: An audience with the Pope

Pope Benedict XVI reads his message to the world and gathered pilgrims during his March 5 general audience. The 150th anniversary of the Paulist Fathers was noted by the emcee, and the pontiff greeted Paulist president Father John F. Duffy after the event.

With the tomb of St. Peter right in front of them and the tomb of Pope John Paul II just a few feet to the right, Father Ken Boyack, C.S.P., was the main celebrant of a morning liturgy in the crypt area of St. Peter's. Then it was off to the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall where the pilgrims had 10th-row seats for the pontiff's weekly general audience.

Hecker Week pilgrims Mary Berwick, a Paulist Associate from St. Austin parish in Austin, Tex. (left), and Betty Gory, a parishoner at Old St. Mary's Parish in Chicago, wait for Pope Benedict XIV to arrive at his weekly general audience March 5.

The mood can only be described as electric as hundreds upon hundreds of people from around the world waited to see Pope Benedict XVI. The air buzzed as people chatted amongst themselves, talking to old friends and making new ones. A choir of French schoolgirls and a band from Mexico practiced for their 30-second performance before the pope to the ovations of the waiting congregation.

After stopping to greet those gathered in the basilica, the pope entered the audience hall to the cheers and applause thundering through the hall. When the time came to acknowledge the English-speaking members of the audience, the emcee announced “The Paulist Fathers priests, associates and friends on a pilgrimage to Rome celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle.”

Father Duffy had the honor of a personal meeting with the Holy Father.

“As I took his hand after reverencing his ring, I told him who I was and asked his special blessing upon us tomorrow which is Nuper Nonnulli,” said Father Duffy. “He responded, ‘Paulist Fathers' with a knowing smile.”

Day VI: Walking in Hecker's Footsteps

The pilgrims first stopped at the Old North American College, where Father Hecker stayed for six months in 1870 while participating in Vatican I and again during the winter of 1874-75 while searching for a cure for the health ailments that would eventually cause his death a little more than a decade later. The pilgrims participated in a poignant prayer service in the marble-walled chapel.

Pilgrims then walked a few blocks to the Propaganda Fide, where Father Heclerspent much time in the antechamber waiting to speak with its prefect, Cardinal Barnabo. It is here, during his talks with the prelate, that Father Hecker's vision for ministry came to solidity. The support and guidance of Cardinal Barnabo was instrumental to Father Hecker, the formation of the Paulist Fathers and all the grace that would come out of this new religious order.

A view of the apartment where Father Hecker stayed for seven months beginning in September 1857 after being released from the Redemptorists was the next stop, and the pilgrims saw the street Madonna that was Father Hecker's first view when looking out his windows.

	Paulist pilgrims stand outside the Caffe Greco, the 18th-century coffee house where Paulist founder Father Isaac Hecker had his morning coffee while in Rome. A framed picture and notation of Father Hecker hangs on the walls of the cafe.

The last stop was the famous Caffé Greco, an 18th century coffeehouse where Father Hecker drank his morning coffee to warm him on the chilly Roman winter mornings.

The evening featured the culmination of the pilgrimage – a Mass at Santa Susanna to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Nuper Nonnulli, the decree by Pope Pius IX releasing Father Hecker's companions from their Redemptorist vows thereby paving the way for the founding of the Paulist Fathers. The pilgrims shared photos and talked about their Roman experience during a reception at the Paulist house and the restaurant dinner that followed the liturgy.

The Paulist 150th Anniversary Office is planning a second pilgrimage to Rome Nov. 8-15, 2008 during the Holy Year of St. Paul the Apostle declared by Pope Benedict XVI. For more information, please visit www.paulistpilgrimage2008.com.

Read past Paulist Profiles here