Vatican News Features Chesterton Academy's Pilgrimage to Italy
Our students and chaperones on the Via della Conciliazione in Rome
Every year, students from Chesterton Academy visit Italy on their capstone pilgrimage! Vatican News even featured a story on their journey:
Students bring Chesterton's example of faith from the U.S. to Rome
Approximately 240 students from across the U.S. travel to Italy for a 10-day pilgrimage and in Rome, attend Pope Leo’s General Audience in St. Peter's Square. Their chaplain says their mission is to “be a sign of contradiction” to the voices that “do not appreciate the truth of the Gospel.”
By Kielce Gussie and Fabrizio Peloni
Each week, pilgrims from across the globe gather in St. Peter’s Square—weather permitting—for the papal General Audience. This week, a group of students kicked off their capstone pilgrimage to Rome seeing Pope Leo in the Square.
The Chesterton Rome Pilgrimage takes place each year and brings high school years from various parts of the United States to the Eternal City.
Day two: A papal audience
For the next eight days, students will travel around Rome, Florence, and Assisi visiting churches and pilgrimage sites—being immersed in art and architecture and history.
Even though it’s only day two of the ten-day pilgrimage, Nora Kennedy—one of the students from the Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family in Illinois—described being in Rome as “the best experience” of her life.
She expressed her joy at being able to live the experience with her friends as unforgettable. Starting off the Wednesday at the General Audience was a special moment for Nora. “Seeing [the Pope] go by was so cool [and] hearing him address us in English—this I just can’t even put into words yet how impactful this has all been.”
This feeling is one that Konstantinos Karnezis, Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family near Chicago, shared. “Being here has honestly been such a blessing. It's something that I've honestly looked forward to ever since my freshman year.”
Fr. Joseph Johnson is the chaplain for the Network and his role, as he defined it, is to accompany the young people on their journey. This year, the pilgrimage was extra special as the 240 students were able to see Pope Leo—a fellow American.
The group was able “to both rejoice in the Holy Father coming from our own land, but also rejoice with all the Catholics of the world here” in St. Peter’s Square in “Bernini’s great colonnade, which welcomes pilgrims from all of the world that we’re all brothers and sisters together, one family in faith.”
For more on this exciting capstone opportunity, visit Vatican News to read the rest of the article.