by Mauricio I. Perez
 President of our Pastoral Council and Spiritual Guide assisting Fr. Dawson

Day 1 - Departure to Poland

The day we have longed for has arrived. Today we gathered at the parish for a special Mass for all the pilgrims and our families and friends. At the end of the Mass, Fr. Dawson gave us the special blessing for pilgrims, and imposed a crucifix on each of us. "This is a pilgrimage, not a vacation trip, and things will not always be perfect. When something is not perfect, hold your crucifix and offer it to the Lord."

Day 2 - Arrival to Poland

A 13 hour transatlantic flight took us to Warsaw, first stop of our pilgrimage. Our connecting flight in Copenhagen was delayed due to a break on the gas tank of the plane. We arrived to our hotel so late that we missed our reserved time for Mass at a nearby parish. In consequence, we had to improvise a chapel in the restaurant of the hotel. Fr. Dawson made us aware in his homily about the fact that the first Christians did not celebrate the Eucharist at the basilicas, but in the ordinary atmosphere of the daily supper, just as we were doing now in a simple restaurant. Perhaps it is that God wants us to be prepared one step at a time, starting with the simplicity of the gathering of a meal to take us later to the big basilicas in Rome.

Day 3 - Jasna Gora

Our pilgrimage started with an impressive spiritual experience. On our first day in Poland, we went to the monastery of Jasna Gora, main destination of all the pilgrimages to Poland. Jasna Gora is the home of the icon of the Black Lady of Czestochowa. A popular legend wants St. Luke to be the one who painted this icon on a piece of wood taken from the dining table of Virgin Mary. While a legend, one cannot deny the love of the popular piety behind it.

Stepping in a Catholic country always feels good. Watching numerous priests and nuns, all of them wearing their habits and cassocks makes one to feel safe in a foreign land, to feel at home. There is a strong sense of identity between our faith. This was the case at Jasna Gora.

After visiting all the sanctuary, the big spiritual surprise was awaiting us. We were to celebrate Mass precisely before the icon of the Black Madonna. Following a traditions that dates from centuries ago, the metallic plaque that covers the Black Madonna is lifted very slowly, unveiling the beautiful image of our Lady while the trumpets play. Kneeling before the altar, our soul experienced a spiritual chill as we contemplated in awe the beauty of this icon as it became visible little by little to our eyes. All of us serving at the altar were nervous. The sanctuary was packed at that time with all the people who had come on a pilgrimage to see their Black Madonna, and the majesty of the icon made our hands tremble as we turned the pages of the lectionary or set the altar for the Eucharistic sacrifice.

It was a thrilling experience. Hard to explain in words. Very deep and moving... and this was only the beginning.

Day 4 - The Shrine of the Divine Mercy and
             Wadowice, the Birth Place of John Paul II

Being based in Krakow now for the next couple of days, we celebrated mass at the Shrine of the Divine Mercy. I can bet that none of us in this pilgrimage would have included this shrine in the itinerary of our pilgrimage. Yet, the Divine Providence was taking us there, and for a specific reason. The church where we had Mass is part of the convent where the Servants of the Divine Mercy live. One of them, Saint Faustina, received in the early 20th century the mission from the Lord to make the people aware of the importance of the devotion to the Divine Mercy. The diary of St. Faustina is nowadays considered an important spiritual reading. The image of the Divine Mercy we all know today, was based on the vision of Jesus by St. Faustina And the original painting is kept precisely at this church, next to the altar where Fr. Dawson celebrated the Eucharist. It is impossible to resist oneself to the beauty of this image, especially while being there.

After Mass, our souls would be treated by a young nun. We all simply fell in love with ? her. Listening to the very sweet voice of a young, pretty and evidently well educated woman who gave up everything to consecrate her life to God was very refreshing, especially looking at her in her beautiful habit. It made us realize that there are still vocations to consecrated life. She asked if we were there because we were interested in the Divine Mercy, or if it was simply because it was part of our itinerary. While our answer was the latter, it was clear that it was the Divine Providence that took us there. Now we all knew about the devotion of the Divine Mercy, about its power and dimension, about the importance of the revelation received by St. Faustina. Now it is our duty to share our experience and spread this devotion ourselves.

We visited then the modern basilica that was dedicated by Pope John Paul II in 2002. A big image of the Divine Mercy is suspended over the tabernacle, which is an Earth globe, clearly symbolizing the divine mercy of God spreading all over the world. Around the sanctuary, sculptures of trees waiving with the blow of the divine mercy stand as a firm witness of this reality.

Wadowice

In the afternoon we went to the main destination of our pilgrimage to Poland: the birth place of Karol Wojtyla. Wadowice, a small town famous for its shoes and furniture, has become one of the main destinations of pilgrims.

We began our spiritual journey visiting the parish where baby Lolek was baptized. As a pope, John Paul II came to this place and venerated the baptismal font where he received his first sacrament with a kiss. For it was that baptismal font which ignited the spark of his faith. A picture of this moment is placed next to the font, which stands before a beautiful image of the Holy Family.

This parish is kept in very good conditions, and its art has been wisely "retouched". The ceiling of the church has a series of frescoes that portray each of the Encyclicals written by John Paul II. A back chapel preserves the altar table and the chair used by John Paul on the last mass he celebrated in this parish, in a balcony out of the church that was set for the occasion.

For those who love pope John Paul, being at this church is very moving. Thinking of the many times when he came to mass with his father, looking at the confessional where he should have knelt so many times as a boy and a young man to reconcile himself with the Lord, looking at the altar and thinking of the many times when he served Mass as an altar boy...

Next to the sanctuary, a big picture of John Paul is displayed, for people to pray for his intercession. A miracle is still needed for him to be beatified. And we knelt, and prayed, and wept... All our emotions, ur gratitude, our love for a friend who was close to us even from a distance melted into tears.

We still had to conclude our visit to Wadowice, simply crossing the street to go into the apartment that Lolek&#?9;s family rented to a Jewish family. One has to wear special slippers over his shoes not to ruin the well preserved parquet. The apartment is now a museum that exhibits numerous pictures and some personal items of Karol Wojtyla, such as his report cards, books, and camping equipment. One of the most special items in the collection is the papal cassock he first wore, when he was introduced from the central balcony on that memorable October evening back in 1978.

It was a small apartment. One can still look through the window and see what Lolek saw every time: a sun clock on the side wall of the parish. On our way down we played with our fingers on the banisters, thinking that little Lolek should have done the same when he was a kid.

This was so far the best and most important experience of our spiritual journey.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

We concluded our pilgrimage with a visit to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a very important destination of Polish pilgrims. Karol Wojtyla's father used to take him once a year to this place when he was a kid. Later as an archbishop, Karol said that this place was where all his problems were always resolved. He asked pilgrims who would come to Kalwaria to always pray for him, while he was alive, and also after his death. One of the most significant experiences was sitting down at the presbyter behind the main altar, where priests have sat for centuries to recite the Divine Office. Realizing for how long our traditions have lasted, helps to strengthen our faith.

Day 5 - The Cathedral at Wawel Hill and the Salt Mines at Weilliczka

After praying the Laudes of the Divine Office at 7:00 in the hotel, we went straight to the church of St. Stanislaw, which is the second most important church in Poland. Celebrating Mass at this place had a profound significance on our spiritual quest following the footsteps of John Paul the Great. St. Stanislaw is not only the patron of Poland, but was also John Paul II's favorite saint. Centuries ago, he was killed by a king while celebrating mass at this place. The church is simply beautiful. Serving mass today, I could not resist to whisper to Fr. Dawson "Have you realized that you are celebrating the Eucharist in one of the favorite places of Karol Wojtyla? How many times did he offer the Eucharistic sacrifice at the same altar you are confecting the sacrament now?". And the history behind this place was definitely overwhelming -Fr. Dawson himself felt somewhat uncomfortable to sit at the beautiful celebrant's chair, knowing that Pope John Paul himself had sat on that very chair before.

After Mass, we went to Wawel Hill. We made a quick stop at the castle of the kings, and then went to our main destination: the cathedral. Karol Wojtyla was the Archbishop of Krakow, so this cathedral was his see for several years before being elected Pope at the second conclave of 1978. Karol Wojtyla said that this cathedral was his preferred church in Poland. It is here where the kings are buried, and being not only a saint, but also a passionate patriot, Archbishop Wojtyla always thought that each liturgical celebration at this Cathedral was linked to the celebration of the history of his nation and the Polish culture. When one really loves Pope John Paul, you cannot help to dream about the many times where he sat at the cathedra of this ? cathedral. It was also on this place where he was ordered as a bishop. And it is certainly exciting to realize that this is the cathedral of Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz now, who was the personal secretary of Pope John Paul since his days as a bishop and was appointed Archbishop of Krakow by Pope Benedict, too likely as a gift both for Poland and for the loyal secretary of John Paul II.

The Salt Mines at Weilliczka

In the afternoon we visited this natural wonder of the world. These mines have been active since the middle ages, and are famous for the many sculptures carved by its workers. Being ours a spiritual trip, some of us were wondering before getting there what this place had to do with our pilgrimage, for it seemed more an attraction for tourists than a destination for pilgrims. We could not be more wrong. The most beautiful sculptures of these mines have to do with sacred art. It is impressive to see one chapel at the beginning of the walk, and another one at the end. The work at the mines is so dangerous, that its workers pray for an hour before and after their 8 hour work day. The highlight of the tour through the caverns is an impressive church that was entirely built on salt. Its nave is probably as big as the one of our parish. On the side walls one can appreciate different scenes of the gospel carved on the salty walls. The sanctuary is simply superb: the altar table, the railings, the crucifix, the ambo, the chairs for the priests... everything is carved in salt. It took more than 70 years to finish this construction, and recently it has had some additions, such as a beautiful sculpture of Pope John Paul next to a rendition of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Nowadays this underground church is used often for weddings, and the banquet takes place at another beautiful hall also carved in salt.

Visiting this place in a contemplative attitude, one can realize not only the amount of work this masterpieces have behind, but more importantly, the big devotion of all these workers which for generations have worked on this sacred art. Visiting this place in the end was not a sightseeing tour, but rather a spiritual exercise that made us to reflect on the devotion of people and their love for their faith.

Day 6 - Auschwitz, camp of terror and death

What can I say? Visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp is a very somber experience. Over one million and a half people were killed there by the Nazi, and it is hard to realize how many people that is until you get to a gallery that displays tons of human hair that was used to confect textiles for the soldiers' uniforms and furniture fabrics, thousands of glasses that were removed from the people before they were killed, thousands of prosthetic legs and arms of people who right after their arrival were put to death because they were useless to work for the Nazi; thousands of pieces of luggage, kitchen utensils, toothbrushes, combs, blankets... It is then when one can connect the number with the people, real people. To me, the most shocking part was looking the clothes of the babies and young children who were also put to death...

All the groups visiting the camp remain silent. There is no will to chat, no one is in the mood. Eventually one can hear someone sobbing. Why can people behave like that? How low can human kind get? Will we ev?r learn? I kept thinking on one verse of a hymn of the Liturgy of the Hours in Spanish: "May you never repent, oh Lord, of having entrusted to us the keys to the earth".

From a pilgrimage standpoint, and following the footsteps of John Paul the Great, visiting Auschwitz has a special value. It was here that Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan, offered his life in exchange for the life of a man who was randomly picked with other nine to be killed by starvation on retaliation for one prisoner who had intended to escape. This man pled not to be killed, for he was a father and his wife and son awaiting him. Maximilian Kolbe with no hesitation told the soldiers to take his life instead, and they did. After 12 days the other nine men had died of starvation, but with the spiritual help of Fr. Kolbe. Since Fr. Kolbe didn't die, he was taken to a different cell where he was applied a lethal injection. St. Maximilian Kolbe was canonized by Pope John Paul, and he regarded him as his personal hero. As a priest, many times Karol Wojtyla would go on a pilgrimage to Auschwitz to venerate the cell where Maximilian died, "his Golgotha". As a Pope, he also came to this place, leaving at the cell a beautiful paschal candle that is still displayed, and a bouquet of white and red roses, for Maximilian had received a vision from Virgin Mary when he was eight, in which she gave him one white rose, and one red rose. The white rose meaning he should consecrate himself to the Immaculate Conception. The red one meaning that he would be a martyr. The boy accepted the two roses, and valiantly embraced his martyrdom at Auschwitz. So visiting the cell where he died was certainly a strong spiritual experience, that helped to overcome the sorrow of this somber place, through its witness of the authentic Christian love, up to the point of giving up the life for someone else.

After visiting Auschwitz, we went to a nearby spiritual center and celebrated mass in a beautiful modern chapel portraying the sacrifice of Maximilian Kolbe on the mural at the sanctuary. Fr. Dawson wisely told us that we had not come to Auschwitz to have bitter feelings against the Nazi, but rather to learn from their mistakes.

In the end, this was a very strong, but valuable experience.

Day 7 - Venerating St. Maximilian Kolbe at Niepokolanow

A pilgrimage to Poland could definitely not be complete without a visit to Niepokolanow. It was here that St. Maximilian Kolbe founded the largest monastery, and erected a church that is now a minor basilica. The pilgrim who has a deep understanding of the thinking of Pope John Paul, easily values the importance of this place, due to the strong connection between St. Maximilian Kolbe and Pope John Paul. He was the personal hero of our beloved John Paul. He canonized St. Maximilian, and during the canonization process, using his pontifical authority he extended the definition of martyrdom, "to die for the personal faith", to cover also the sacrifice of giving the life to save someone else. When Maximilian was beatified by Pope Paul VI, he was regarded only as a Confessor. But after his canonization, and thanks to the redefinition of martyrdom by Pope John Paul for this purpose, St. Maximilian is also regarded now as a martyr.

But even when someone does not know in depth the thoughts and work of Pope John Paul, our ? visit to Auschwitz yesterday certainly prepared everyone to value our Mass at Niepokolanow. We had the surprising blessing of celebrating Mass in a very famous tiny chapel that was built by St. Maximilian Kolbe himself. Now, the back wall of the chapel has been removed and a bigger wooden church has been built behind, so a lot more people can celebrate the mass there. Yet, the front part remains to be the authentic tiny chapel, where our group perfectly fit for a very intimate celebration of the Eucharist. The sacristy still keeps the very simple bedroom of St. Maximilian. Fr. Dawson was allowed to come inside and pray kneeling next to St. Maximillian's bed. If all this was not enough, in the chapel there is also a first class relic of the beard of St. Maximilian, which we could venerate after Mass.

Many pilgrims of our group said that this Mass was one of the most special so far. At the end of the Mass Fr. Dawson blessed for us miraculous medals at St. Maximilian's sacristy. This was also very special, for Maximilian Kolbe always promoted this devotion. In fact, it is a requirement of the Knights of the Immaculata to always wear this medal. The Militia of the Immaculata is an international lay association founded by St. Maximilian and very highly regarded in the Church.

We finally visited the minor basilica. The image of the Immaculate Conception at the sanctuary is beautiful indeed. Perhaps the most beautiful image of the Virgin Mary that I have ever seen.

Chopin Piano Concert

Our spiritual experience at Poland has been very deep. Before moving on to the second chapter of our pilgrimage, we needed a spiritual break. Chris, our excellent guide in Poland, offered us to arrange a private piano concert with music of Chopin in the evening. Half of the group agreed, and we finished our stay in Poland with a very intimate private piano concert in a small palace that was used by the kings to entertain their guests. Certainly a splendid way to finish our pilgrimage in Poland.

Day 8 - All Roads lead to Rome

In our case, it was a plane coming from Warsaw. We arrived in Rome in the afternoon in the middle of a very heavy rain. We checked in at the hotel and then were taken to a nice restaurant a block away from the Coliseum. After dinner, we spent some time contemplating the Coliseum and thinking of the many centuries this magnificent construction has witnessed. We certainly couldn't help to talk about the Christians who were put to death for not surrendering themselves to the worship of the Divus Caesar and the Dea Roma (the god Ceasar and the god Rome), and recalled the case of Perpetua and Felicity her maid. Perpetua was pregnant, and was sentenced to death for having converted to Christianism. A night before her death, her father, an important politician, came to her jail to plead her to convert back to the Roman Empire. But she refused. She and her faithful servant Felicity died together in the Coliseum. A bull horned them once and again, but Perpetua would not die. So she took the sword of a soldier and put it on her neck, letting the gladiator to finish the work.

This evening has ignited a new sparkle in our faith as we begin a new episode of our pilgrimage, now in the Eternal City.

Day 9 - We missed the ? Pope

It was very unfortunate. The travel agency we hired to organize our trip has not been up to our expectations so far, and sadly today their poor organization affected us again. We had asked them to add to our itinerary an excursion to Castel Gandolfo with the sole purpose of praying the Angelus with the Holy Father. For some reason, the travel agency insisted that the Holy Father would pray the Angelus at the Vatican (in spite of my firm conviction that he would be at Castel Gandolfo, based on the information provided by the Vatican itself.) For this reason they took us too late to Castel Gandolfo and we missed the Pope. The bus parked down a very steep hill and three of us ran as hard as we could for over a mile up the hill in an effort to see the Holy Father at least for a few seconds before the Angelus was over. Unfortunately, we arrived three minutes before the ceremony concluded and we were not let in anymore. It was really hard to offer this as a sacrifice, for our enthusiasm for meeting our new Pope was simply too high. Alas, we had no choice.

The Basilica of St. John in Lateran

In the afternoon we visited the basilica of Saint John in Lateran, the most important Catholic church in the world (even above St. Peter's basilica). It is the most important church because it is the see of the bishop of Rome, who is the Pope, and as such, his authority extends over the universal church. Along the nave, huge and beautiful statues of the Apostles stand firm, as if they were contemplating the pilgrims who for centuries have come to this place. This basilica is dedicated to both St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

I couldn't resist stepping at the ambo and imagining what it would be like to read from there, with the Pope listening as he sat on the sanctuary. I was thrilled with the beautiful tomb of Pope Leo XIII, the very one who proclaimed the Social Doctrine of the Church with his encyclical Rerum Novarum (Of the New Things) back in 1891. But certainly, one of the highlights of this basilica is the Cathedra that is used by the Pope when he proclaims a dogma of faith. As we know, all dogmas of faith are guaranteed to be true because when the Pope teaches them from that sit, from his cathedra, ex cathedra, the Holy Spirit inspires him in a way that we can be sure that the Pope will not fail.

The Steps Jesus Climbed to be Judged by Pilate

We ended our day with a very strong spiritual exercise. After visiting St. John in Lateran, we crossed the street to climb the Holy Steps, la Scala Santa. These are the steps that Jesus climbed at the Pretorium in Jerusalem to be judged by Pontius Pilate, and were brought to Rome in the fourth century by St. Hellen, Emperor Constantine's mother. People are not allowed to climb the steps walking: all pilgrims must do it on their knees. The original steps are covered by wooden steps, on the middle, small holes covered with glass allow the pilgrims to see the original steps. Because of the weight of the pilgrims who for centuries have climbed the Holy Steps, they are all irregular. Definitely not smooth. And this makes the task even harder. Every time one climbs to the next step, the wood hurts your knees. Each step is more painful, at some point one feels it is not possible to continue... but ? there is no way back, as all the steps behind are crowded already by pilgrims on their knees. As one climbs, a big painting of the crucifixion gets closer. At some point, when the strength is gone, the only way to climb to the next step is by looking at Jesus on his cross, and praying. One can offer every climbed step for his sins, for his problems, for the needs of his family, for the peace of the world, for the children killed on the womb of their mothers... The last steps are the hardest, by then one climbs not only on his knees, but also on his hands. Only by crawling one can make it to the top. When one reaches the top, all the emotions finally explode and melt down in the form of tears. Yet, that is not the end. Under the painting of the crucifixion that seemed the end of the steps, there is an adoration chapel. Kneeling at its kneeler is probably the most painful of all. One can then meet the Lord, face to face...

Day 10 - We witnessed a miracle!

Today we traveled through the beautiful highways of Tuscany to the medieval town of Siena. This was to be one of the most intense spiritual experiences so far -I guess I have said the same every day, but it is just that every time is very special. Before entering the town, we celebrated Mass in the crypt of a monastery that was built in 1470. How can one not feel that our Church is the true when you receive communion in a place where Mass has been celebrated every year even before Christopher Columbus arrived in America? While our American nations were conquered or colonized, built, and always catechized, Franciscans have celebrated Mass at this place, every day... and now it was our turn to come and celebrate Mass ourselves and then leave... as dust with the wind along the times...

Siena is important because it is the birthplace of St. Catherine of Siena, the second of our three female doctors of the Church (with St. Teresa and St. Therese). With St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine is also the patron of Italy. We had the opportunity to venerate the skull and one thumb of St. Catherine at her basilica. Her body is in Rome.

After lunch, half of the group decided to go shopping. The other half decided to stick to the itinerary, and without knowing, this decision would take us to one of the most important experiences of this pilgrimage: After walking through the medieval twisted streets of Siena, we arrived to the Basilica of St. Francis, which is the home of the Miraculous Hosts of Siena. Back in 1738, 37 consecrated hosts were stolen from the basilica. The priests were extremely concerned fearing that the hosts would be desecrated somehow. Three days later, a man who was praying at the basilica saw a basket, and all the hosts were in there. Apparently the thieves were only interested in the vessel that contained them, and returned the hosts in a secret way. The priests noticed that after some days, the hosts remained fresh, in spite of the high humidity of this place. And until now, the 37 hosts remain absolutely fresh. Back in the sixties, the Pope allowed a group of scientists to analyze the hosts, and they came to the conclusion that the hosts indeed remain fresh, they have not become rotten or spoiled after all these centuries, in spite of the high humidity, and only being contained in a crystal monstrance. They are not kept inside any particular chamber where temperature, lighting or humidity would be ? controlled: they are simply kept in a tabernacle with a thick door to prevent them from being stolen again.

I was thrilled to be at this place. Alas, it was Monday and the hosts are only taken outside on Fridays, for adoration. Yet, to my big surprise, one of the Franciscans led us to the chapel where the hosts are kept, told us the story of the miracle, and saying we were about to witness a miracle, he opened the tabernacle for us! We all felt on our knees and the Franciscan led us in adoration. As if this was not enough, he asked us then to go up to the tabernacle to adore the holy hosts. Some of us were weeping. At the end, the priest gave us benediction with the miraculous hosts!! He then told us that after being there, we should never forget the miracle we had seen that day, and we should share the story of the miraculous hosts with everybody. When we met again with the rest of the group, some really regretted missing this miracle. At least to me, the lesson was clear: if we abandoned ourselves to God and just followed the itinerary, we would experience unexpected blessings. But if we chose to follow our own way, we would certainly miss them.

Those who were able to witness this miracle, will remain always grateful for this blessing.

Day 11 - A Marian Day in our Pilgrimage

It would be impossible not to have one day dedicated to our Mother the Virgin Mary in our pilgrimage. We began our pilgrimage today visiting the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Back in the fourth century, Pope Liberious had a dream in which the Virgin Mary asked him to erect a basilica for her at the place where she would give him a signal: It was during the hot summer, on the 5th of August, snow fell over the Esquiline hill. So the basilica was built at the top of this hill, and has been there for the last 15 centuries, being the most antique and biggest basilica in the world in honor of our Lady. Of the four major basilicas in Rome, this is the only one that still preserves its original structures. The beautiful mosaics of the central nave and the triumphal arc (from the 5th century) are breath taking. So are the ones from the apse, made in the late 1200s.

They scourged Jesus at this column

After visiting the basilica of St. Mary Major, we crossed the street to a small but very beautiful basilica of byzantine style: San Praessede. It was very moving to enter into a side chapel and get really close to the relic kept at this basilica: the column where Jesus was flogged after being trialed by Pilate.

The Original Icon of our Mother of Perpetual Help

We finished this Marian day of our pilgrimage celebrating Mass at St. Alphonsus. This church is served by the Redemptorists, and is located next to the General House in Rome of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. Fr. Dawson certainly felt at home, and could not hide his pride for being a Redemptorist.

At the sanctuary, the original icon of our Lady of Perpetual Help is displayed for the veneration of the faithful. As you may know, the Redemptorists are responsible for promoting the devotion to our Mother of Perpetual Help (in our parish we even have two Masses on Tuesday, so its devotion can be prayed after each Mass). To learn more about our Mother of Perpetual Help, please vis?t its special section in our website.

This day was a very good occasion to focus our spiritual attention in our Mother, venerate her at her largest basilica, and pray for her perpetual help at St. Alphonsus.

Day 12 - We met the Pope!

We were at the Vatican very early in the morning to meet Pope Benedict XVI at his General Audience. Security was very tight today because yesterday people from Al Qaeda threatened to take Rome just as Constantinople was taken my the Muslims centuries ago. This was just one more reaction in a series of protests from the Muslims after Pope Benedict was quoted by the media completely out of the context of his words during a speech he gave at the University of Rattensburg last week during his pilgrimage to Baviera.

What did the Pope really say at Rattensburg?

In a master piece of philosophical reflection on inter-religious dialogue, our Holy Father quoted a dialogue from perhaps 1391, in which the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus addresses his Persian interlocutor "with startling brusqueness, a brusqueness that we find unacceptable: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman". Our Holy Father was quoting this dialogue precisely to prove his point that both faith and reason are needed to have a true and fruitful dialogue among religions. His speech was not for the people of the street, so to speak. Pope Benedict was addressing a group of scholars at the university, and as such, he addresses them at a very high philosophical level. To understand well his text, one has to be savvy on the Aristotelian philosophy and have a good understanding of the ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, and Adolf von Harnack.

These violent reactions from the Muslims have been the focus of the attention of all the media here in Italy. Newspapers devote entire sections to analyze this tense situation. So definitely from that perspective, this is an interesting time to be here in Rome. The Muslims demand an apology from the Pope, and needless to say, he has not. He does not need to apologize because he did not offend anyone. He already asked his Secretary of State, Tarcisio  Card. Bertone, to explain his speech at Rattensburg. Then, last Sunday at his Angelus he explained once again his point. Certainly his audience today would be the focus of the attention of all the media in the world.

The Papal Audience

We got into St. Peter's square after clearing the X-Ray machines, and took a very good position at the back corner in the first section. This would allow us to see the Pope very closely at least twice. We sat for some hours there, as the staff set the podium for the Pope and the huge crowd filled St. Peter's square. It is very encouraging to know that more people are coming to Pope Benedict's audiences than the already huge crowds that used to come to see Pope John Paul. Not that one is better than the other, but certainly this reflects a strong interest on the words of our new Pope.

We finally saw his helicopter flying above the square, bringing the Pope from Castel Gandolfo. The crowds cheered. The awaited moment was getting closer. One could breath the anxiety?and joy of the crowd. Finally the crowd at the front became louder. There he was! On top of his Pope-mobile, with no shielded glass in spite of the recent threats. Certainly our Pope is a man of faith who will bravely stick to his convictions. He turned around at the opposite corner and we couldn't see him any more, but we knew he was approaching. A few minutes later he turned again, this time coming in our direction, getting closer and closer every time. The people cheered, we took our cameras and camcorders, took as many shots as we could, then put the cameras down to enjoy the moment of looking at him. There he was, right in front of us, turning from left to right to greet all the people. He looked at us three times. When we crossed our sight, it was as if we had known each other for always, as if this was just a re-encounter. And just like one did feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when Pope John Paul passed by, we all felt the same. We could feel the Divine Spirit blowing strongly in our hearts as Pope Benedict passed by. Someone embraced me from the back and whispered "I never imagined it would be so powerful seeing a Pope". Then I broke into tears as my emotions melt down. After some time there he was again, coming from the back through the center aisle, and again, he passed right in front of us. Fr. Dawson yelled at him "Papa, we love you! Papa, we love you!".

The audience began. A reading of the Gospel of John in Spanish, then the speech of our Holy Father in Italian, making a summary of all his pilgrimage to Baviera, explaining what he said at every site he visited. He devoted more time explaining yet once more his speech at Rattensburg, making it clear that his quote did not reflect his way of thinking, but on the contrary. The crowd clapped reassuring him of their support to his words. Then he delivered a summary in different languages. His English was very good, but his Spanish was simply perfect. He spoke in German and in Polish too. He finally blessed us and the religious articles that we have brought with us.

The crowds began to leave, but we stayed, we wanted more. After a long while, the Pope finally came back on his Pope-Mobile, shaking the hands of all the people sitting at the front row. Fr. Dawson and I ran to the front and piled several chairs on top of each other to climb on them and be as high as we could. Fr. Dawson yelled again "Papa, I love you! Papa, I love you!" And he listened, and he looked at him... and he smiled!

We could not be happier and prouder of being there, of being Catholic, of being under the guidance of Pope Benedict. Viva il Papa Benedetto!!

The Basilica of St. John out of the Walls

Unfortunately I lost the group in the crowd at St. Peter's square, and missed the chance to visit my favorite basilica of all: San Paolo Fuori le Mura. Built originally out of the walls of Rome, this basilica is the burial place of St. Paul. Its style is completely different from the others, much more simple, and a lot less crowded probably because it is a bit far from the historic center of Rome. Everyone told me that the mass Fr. Dawson celebrated at this basilica was one of the best in the entire pilgrimage. Meanwhile... I was still waiting for someone to come and rescue me at St. Peter's, but after three hours and a half I gave up and went back to the hotel.

Day 13 - Reaching the Destination of our Pilgrimage

Along two weeks we have journeyed on this spiritual trip following the steps of the Pilgrim Pope. Today we would reach the destination of our pilgrimage: the tomb of John Paul II. To prepare ourselves for this, we first celebrated mass in a chapel at the crypt of St. Peter's basilica, very few steps away from St. Peter's tomb.

Before Mass, Fr. Dawson, Travis and I experienced one of the most special moment of our pilgrimage: getting dressed for Mass at the sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica, the sacristy where the Pope and the Cardinals dress when they celebrate Mass in there.

In a very intimate Mass, Fr. Dawson explained to us how Pope John Paul was not there with us anymore. In fact, this was the first time Father celebrated Mass at St. Peter's and Pope John Paul was not there. Yet, for us as pilgrims this was the time to let him go, and embrace firmly and lovingly Pope Benedict and continue our pilgrimage on earth under his guidance.

We finally went to pray at the tomb of John Paul the Great. The tombs of other popes at St. Peter's are magnificent. John Paul's tomb is very simple. It is located a few steps away from St. Peter's tomb, in fact, it is the closest tomb to the one of the first Pope. With big emotion in our hearts, we knelt and prayed for more than 30 minutes. Some of us in the group were very fond of John Paul, and we were close to him by always following his work through the media and through the documents he wrote. It was important for us to come and pray at his tomb, and ask for his intercession from now on.

The Chapel where Popes are Elected

We finished our visit to the Vatican by walking through the Vatican Museums in order to reach the Sistine Chapel. We spent a good amount of time in there, some of us admiring the famous frescoes painted by Michel Angelo, and some others thinking on how the history of our Church has been shaped at that very place, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, when a new Pope has been elected.

Day 14 - Arrivederci Roma

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and our pilgrimage was not an exception. After spending two weeks in an intense spiritual journey, the time to go back home has arrived. Before coming on this journey, Fr. Dawson explained to us that the most important aspect of a pilgrimage was not the physical journey we would make, but rather the spiritual journey to our self interiors, where we would explore and face those corners of our soul that we fear the most. I am sure that the majority of the pilgrims in our group did experience this internal journey, and I pray that we all come back home with a renewed and stronger faith, and with passion to share our experience and our faith with others.

May the seeds planted in our hearts along this spiritual journey, give abundant fruit for ever.

-Mauricio