Pilgrim life: hard work, prayer and fun

A side chapel at St Peter's Bascilica

What an amazing day. Bishop Mark told us that being a pilgrim was not always easy. That it involved praying hard, working hard and having fun. Well, we achieved all three today. We began the day with Mass in the side chapel at St Peter’s Basilica. I wondered if Mary MacKillop had knelt in the same spot those many years ago, as behind the altar is a huge mosaic of St Joseph holding the child Jesus. 

As the internet is on strike this evening, this is a brief blog….. more tomorrow!

Perfect start to the day

It's just gone 7am here in Rome and I've been serenaded by bells chiming Ave Maria. How marvelous! Wish the weather was as delightful - overcast skies, not unlike Canberra right now I'm told.

Touch Down - ROME!!!

We have arrived in Rome after our 26 hour journey. It is wonderful to be here.

Charlotte King from Forbes and Heidi Welsh
from Eugowra with our guide Stephania

Stephania, our tour guide and Salvatora our bus driver greeted us at the airport and took us on an orientation tour of the streets of Rome. What an amazing city. We stopped at the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus; this is the site

Miranda Evans and me

where most of the Christians were martyred. Stephania also taught us a very important skill – how to drink from the water fountains of Rome. Bishop Mark also pointed out many of the Mother houses of the religious orders and the university (Propaganda Fide), where many of our Australia Bishops studied.



Thanks for the demo Charlotte



We celebrated the Eucharist at the church of Our Lady of Guadeloupe near our hotel. The gospel of the Beatitudes was proclaimed. Archbishop Mark told us that in the Roman Missal, all the saints are called – not ‘saint’  but ‘blessed’ – beati – because we see in them what the beatitudes really look like. Mary MacKillop lived the beatitudes in her life, as did St Vincent de Paul and our other wonderful saints.



Dinner was shared in a quaint little restaurant in the cobbled streets near the Vatican. We then walked through the Piazza of Saint Peter’s Basilica – the warmth of the Piazza came not only from the beautiful warm October weather but also from other pilgrims who seemed as awe struck as we were as we gazed upon the stunning spot-lit architecture.

Channel Seven found us at the hotel, interviewed Archbishop Mark, filmed us all dining at the restaurant and interviewed Fr Richard Thompson for the live AM program. Looks like we are going to be TV stars!!

Another word on comments

I've taken out the "Word Verification" step in the fun filled comment process to make it speedier for you all. But, if my poor blog starts getting spammed with fake comments I'll be forced to turn it back on. So we'll see how we go.
Thank you for those who have commented already. I really appreciate hearing from you!

And just by the way, I've added the actual footage of the Archdiocese Mary MacKillop video for anyone yet to see it. Just scroll down a few posts. Alternatively, you can check it out directly from the Archdiocese website.
Hopefully I'll be able to get some footage from Rome, as well as photos, up on the blog too so you can really see what we all get up to!

We've got the tickets so it's not long now...

With just days to go before we fly out, a meeting of the pilgrims was held at the Rheinberger Centre to make sure we all knew who was who and what was what. I was happy there were plenty of familiar faces and it was exciting to see young and old from all parts of the Archdiocese will be journeying with us.

This is just part of our group of 35 - what a happy bunch!

Bishop Mark greeted us as our spiritual director. I am looking forward to learning from him, praying with him and experiencing this special event under his spiritual guidance.

We received our tickets, a map of Rome, the itinerary, backpack and cap – holding those goodies in our hands brought to reality the closeness of our departure.

Trish from Capital Travel went through the usual travel queries but there was one point she and Bishop Mark really emphasised - BE PUNCTUAL!

Now all I have to do is finish packing!! I am envious of those really organised people who have finished already. Organisation: what a gift. 

I'll get there eventually.

How to leave comments

A few people have contacted me saying they'd love to comment on my blog but aren't sure how to do it. It's a bit of a process unfortunately, but hopefully these instructions will help. I would really like to hear what you think so the more comments the better!

• Click on "comments" located after the time stamp under the post you wish to comment on.
• Type your comment in the Post a Comment box.
• You'll see a drop down box underneath it. This is where you need to select your profile. If you have one of the accounts listed, select it. If you don't then click on anonymous (if you want your name to appear you'll have to write it in the comment box with this option).
• Click on "Post Comment".
• Those who didn't select anonymous will then be asked to sign in to their particular account. Once you do you'll be redirected back to the blog where you'll see a preview of your post. If you're happy with it then click "Post Comment" again.
• To avoid comment spam, you'll also be asked to complete a Word Verification. Type in the letters you see, hit "Post Comment" one last time and you're done.

Ridiculously complicated process I know, but I promise I'll appreciate your comments even more knowing the drama you had to go through to post them!

Who are these amazing people?

In England, Benedict XVI presided over the beatification ceremony of Blessed John Henry Newman on Sunday. He is about to canonise our first Australian saint Mother Mary of the Cross. Canada is celebrating the life of Brother Andre and his story of charity, holiness and hope. Another three people are also to be canonised on 17 October. Who are these people? What makes them holy?
Here I am sorting out what clothes and how many pairs of shoes to take on my trip thinking about how these men and women clothed the poor... How different our lives are.