Introduction - Pretrip

We visited our daughter’s home in Raleigh last Thanksgiving to celebrate the holiday with her family. Before the holiday meal, we attended Mass at her church, Saint Francis of Assisi, where a small announcement in the parish bulletin caught our attention. On our return to Virginia, we talked about whether this trip might make a good spring getaway and whether we would enjoy being part of a pilgrimage. We had never participated in a pilgrimage before and did not know a single person on the trip. By the time we arrived home, the decision on whether to participate was still undecided. With the Christmas holidays quickly approaching, to go or not go, was placed on the back burner.

Shortly after Christmas, we sent Jim, the organizer of the pilgrimage, an email to confirm that non-parish members could join the trip and to request more information. Receiving the brochure we immediately realized the deadline to join was less than a month away. We both said, “Lets Do It!” and detailed planning began.

Our plan differed slightly from the Saint Francis pilgrims in that we would depart from Washington D.C. vice Raleigh. We also decided to leave a day early to avoid the dreaded zombie day of arriving on the first day of the trip and hitting the ground on the run. With our confirmation check mailed, airline tickets purchased, and first night hotel reservations made - we were all in!

The group hosted a meet & greet potluck which allowed us to introduce ourselves and meet our fellow pilgrims. A second meeting with more information followed in April, which we also attended. Many of our group were part of one or more of the choirs that sing at St Francis. Both of us being non-singers (and that is an understatement) we gravitated to those among us that were also not members of the choir.

The packing was challenging because we would be entering holy places that had dress code requirements, the predicted weather between Rome and Assisi varied, and a couple pairs of good walking shoes were a must. Our goal was to keep our bags around 30 lbs., and both of us were successful with the self-imposed goal.

Knowing this trip was not the normal Tom and Janet adventure to Europe, it was our hope the pilgrimage would lead us to deeper understanding of ourselves and our faith. At last, our departure date was here and with suitcases packed we headed to the airport.

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“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”       St. Francis of Assisi

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