Sisters Return from Rome and Assisi Pilgrimage

MERIDEN, CT (Oct. 25, 2003) -A group of Sisters represented the Community at the Beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on October 19, 2003. They shared this moment of a lifetime with 350,000 people from all over the world who filled the square at St. Peter's Basilica. The sky was clear and the day beautiful despite an earlier forecast of rain. Mother Teresa's Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, had offered their front row seats to the poor and disabled. They themselves were mixed in with the crowd. The Beatification Rite and Mass were simple, like Mother Teresa. The liturgy was full of references from St. Francis, such as the Prayer for Peace. During the offertory procession, a reliquary containing a small amount of Mother Teresa's blood was brought up as one of the gifts. Sri Lankan women danced before the altar before Communion with incense, flowers and bowls of fire. The Holy Father spoke of Mother Teresa as one who exemplified the greatness of giving without counting the cost, giving "until it hurts."

That evening also saw the conclusion of the complementary celebration of the Holy Father's 25th anniversary as head of the Church. At the anniversary Mass on October 16, 2003, the Holy Father had stressed the theme, "Do not be afraid." On October 19, 2003, as he sat in the window of his apartments to enjoy the fireworks display given by the city of Rome in his honor, he personified the essence of one who is not afraid of the future, even of suffering and eventual death.

In the words of one of the pilgrims, "I felt that we were seeing a saint beatifying a saint and that future generations will venerate Blessed Teresa and his Holiness as a pair of great saints who together contributed to the holiness and growth of the Church, much as St. Francis and St. Clare did."

The pilgrims also had the opportunity to see the life of Christ and the Church depicted in art in Florence and the Vatican Museum, particularly in the Sistine Chapel. They experienced the centering of the great churches of Rome - St. Peter's Basilica, the church of St. Mary Major, John Lateran and the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. They were able to spend time in prayer and contemplation at the holy sites in Assisi - the Basilica of San Francesco, the churches of Santa Chiara and San Damiano, and the caves of the Carceri on Mt. Subasio where St. Francis often went to pray. They also visited Mt. La Verna where St. Francis received the Stigmata. The pilgrims had the privilege of Mass at the Portiuncula chapel inside Mary of the Angels church and visited San Pietro, the church of the Benedictine monastery which is as active today as it was in the time of St. Francis.

It was also significant for this group of pilgrims, who were journeying to Italy for the first time, that they were able to experience our Centers in Assisi and Rome and see first-hand, the work of the Sisters there. Each pilgrim returned with a new sense of bonding with the Rome and Assisi centers.