University of Mary Rome Pilgrimage

2024

Our final day in Rome ended celebrating Mass with the Holy Father, Papa Francesco. What a beautiful experience for all of us. I can’t imagine the day going any better than it did and the students were fabulous and dressed better than any group in St. Peter’s. The Swiss guard even complimented us on how beautiful, joyful and reverent our students were through the Mass.

Tonight, we have our final banquet meal together and then we celebrate an early Sunday Mass together before flying home. See many of you soon.

I am excited for you to hear of your son or daughter’s experiences.

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2024

On our way back to Rome we are spending our day in Orvieto, a beautiful plateau city home to another Eucharistic miracle from which we get the feast of Corpus Christi. We will be in Rome tonight and prepare for our Mass with the Holy Father tomorrow. I am excited to be back home and I think the pilgrims are mixed…don’t want to leave, but miss home.

2024

Today we had the incredible privilege of sharing the story of St. Catherine of Siena and visiting her beautiful city. Following lunch we celebrated Mass and ended the day in adoration of a nearly 300 year old Eucharistic Miracle. It is really an amazing story and our pilgrims get to see the miracle up close and personal. Here is a simple and brief explanation of the miracle from our very own Fargo Diocese website: Fargo Diocese News

Hope all is well back home.

2024

We finished our day with a tour and visit to the Archbishop of Assisi’s residence to hear the story of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Monsignor Anthony, the priest in charge of the cause for Blessed Carlo Acutis’ canonization, spoke to us of Carlo’s beautiful life and deep faith. The Archbishop also came out to greet us before going into the church building which holds Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb.

It was quite powerful for the pilgrims to see a saint that died at 15 years old in the year 2006 the same year many of these pilgrims were born. A moving and beautiful way to end the day.

2024

All is well in the city of St. Francis and St. Clare. Prayers for everyone.

2024

This morning we were able to follow St. Paul in Rome for his last days visiting the site of his execution and basilica in his honor. Following our tours we had Mass in St. Paul’s, feet from his tomb. We are so blessed! We are now on our way to the Vatican museum to see the many treasures.

Happy Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist.

2024

We were privileged to visit the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nettuno on a beautiful Sunday morning. Here are the three bus groups: Trinity/Bishop Ryan, Shanley/Sacred Heart, and St. Mary’s.

The students are doing fabulous and I believe responding well to the incredible opportunities presented to them…they also seem to very much like overcast skies and 80 degrees rather than 102 degrees!!!

On our way to see the tomb of St. Maria Goretti.

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2024

Dear Friends,

We had a beautiful, and for the most part, peaceful day. We left the massive crowds behind at the Colosseum and St. Peter’s to spend our morning at the Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran. We also spent an amazing time at Santa Croce reverencing the relics of the True Cross and viewing a perfect copy of the Shroud of Turin. Our choir (which is pictured along the chapel wall) sang absolutely beautifully for us. Before we left for lunch we climbed the Holy Stairs on our knees…so powerful to climb the very stairs Christ himself walked up twice. Last we visited the catacombs of St. Callisto and will have dinner free for our pilgrims in the neighborhood. Keep praying for us and we are praying for you!

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2024

This morning we started our day in the world’s largest and most beautiful church, San Pietro’s. Fr. Bouck said Mass, gave an impressive homily, and the students clearly understood the blessing of having Mass in St. Peter’s at the altar of St. Joseph, which has Sts. Simon and Jude in it. Three Apostles’ remains with 400 feet of each other, and we were right in between…Holy Cow are we blessed!!!

After Mass, all the students are going on the Scavi tour and will see the very bones of St. Peter's and then a tour of St. Peter’s to follow. If you didn’t know this, our chaplains are amazingly good and generous priests. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for them, they are true fathers to these students.

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2024

This morning we spent our time in Ancient Rome around the Forum and Coliseum, while also visiting the very prison that Saints Peter and Paul were together imprisoned. After lunch we are off to St. Mary Major for Mass and a tour. The weather is surely warm, but with overcast skies it has been quite reasonable.

The pilgrims have been champions when it comes to a number of challenges we have faced. Everything from walking an extra 1.4 miles today to our restaurant, angry Coliseum guards accusing of budging (which we kinda did) and kicking us out of the line to go to the back, and no bathrooms for three hours this mornings. I am very excited to spend the next week and a half with this crew! I have already had religious sisters and other American travels compliment the students and how happy they are and respectful. I am very impressed with their discipline and response to the pilgrimage thus far. God bless!

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2024

As of 3:30 p.m. Rome time, every pilgrim has made it to the UMary campus and is accounted for…I wish I could say the same for our bags. We are still missing 20+ bags, mostly from St. Mary’s. We are hoping most are here tomorrow.

On another note, the weather is much, much better than I was expecting. It is maybe 90 degrees and my hope is that the next two days are not what they predicted. We have our first Mass in Rome at 6:00 p.m. and then dinner together at 7:00 p.m.

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2024

60 pilgrims, 40 St. Mary’s and 20 Bishop Ryan are onboard and racing down the runway. Continue to pray for us, and we will be praying for you! Arrivederci!

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University of Mary High School Rome Pilgrimage

Posts about 2024:

June 29, 2024: Happy Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul!!!

June 28, 2024: Greetings from Orvieto!

June 27, 2024: Our Day in Siena Ends with Adoration of a Eucharistic Miracle

June 26, 2024: Our Visit to Blessed Carlo Acutis Tomb

June 26, 2024: Enjoying the Peace and Beauty of Assisi

June 24, 2024: In the Footsteps of St. Paul

June 23, 2024: Blessed Sunday!!!

June 22, 2024: A Beautiful Day in Roma!

June 21, 2024: St. Mary’s High School with Their Chaplain

June 21, 2024: Mass in St. Peter at the Tomb of the Apostles Simon and Jude

June 20, 2024: Our 1st Pranzo Together!

June 19, 2024: We Are All Here!

June 18, 2024: And We Are Off!!

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