Thirty-seven (37) St. John's Summer Program instructors and volunteers recently completed a pilgrimage to the saints of Italy over Christmas break 2014/15. During the 12 days of Christmas, under the guidance of Fr. Ray Schmidt, we visited nearly 30 saints and 30 holy sites throughout Italy. Joining the youth were David Booz, our seminarian, Sr. Rock of Constancy (former SJSP Instructor) and Sr. Templum Divinitatis from the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara religious order, Meg Hunter-Kilmer (Catholic speaker and blogger), three mothers and Rich Olon, Summer Program Director. Our goal was to briefly introduce our youth to many of the wonderful holy saints and sites that Italy has to offer; hopefully sparking a passion for the faith and a desire to return someday to spend more time with their favorites.
You can read about the saints and sites we visited and see our daily schedule here.
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Giovanni Braschi, Rector, Santuario de Santa filumena, Mugnano, Italy greeted us with the joy and enthusiasm expected of a priest blessed to have such a saint in residence. His love of St. Philomena and his hospitality were overwhelming. Grazie Mille!
