Holy days in England Eternal City

Legates return from faith-filled pilgrimage, which included a papal audience . . .

Legates gather in the Vatican Gardens

This year’s annual pilgrimage brought Legates not only to the banks of the Tiber, where they plunged into the eternally effervescent depths of Rome – but also to the banks of the Thames, where they discovered the lesser-appreciated Catholic heritage of England, where the once cruelly persecuted faith continues to water the country’s spiritual life.

Nearly 50 Legates made the pilgrimage, some opting for both legs of the trip. The London portion (Oct. 12-16) drew 16 pilgrims while 36 journeyed to the Eternal City from Oct. 16-23.

Monumental Rome

Joe and Paula Melançon, members of Legatus’ Baton Rouge Chapter, are still coming off the incredible high of the unexpected apex of their pilgrimage: meeting face-to-face with the Holy Father. Organizers asked the couple to represent Legatus to Pope Benedict XVI only moments after they and fellow Legates had taken VIP seats in St. Peter’s Square for the Pope’s Oct. 19 weekly general audience.

Joe and Paula Melancon meet the Holy Father

“Perhaps it was very wise not to tell us ahead of time,” said Joe Melançon, vice chairman of Legatus’ Board of Governors, who was tremendously moved by the experience. His wife Paula shared in his anxious anticipation: “We said a rosary with our group as we sat there waiting, and that certainly gave us time to steady ourselves.”

When it came their turn to meet the Holy Father and to extend Legatus’ well wishes, “the compassion in his eyes and facial expression is what got me through the process of getting the words out,” Joe Melançon said. Though the meeting was brief, the Pope’s full and unhurried attention made them feel like “it was just the three of us alone in St. Peter’s Square.”

Highlights of the Rome portion of the pilgrimage included:

• Dinner with Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican (click here for a related story). “It was a really fine experience,” said David Prest of the Palm Springs Chapter, who traveled with wife, Michaeleen.

• Thirty minutes alone in the Sistine Chapel by special permission of the president of Vatican City. “Just being there in silence, then praying for the Pope’s intentions in the place where he was elected made me realize that we [Catholics] are all in this together,” said Elizabeth DeMars of the Baton Rouge Chapter, who traveled with husband Tom.

Historic England

While the path to Rome has been trod by many a Legatus pilgrim before, the journey to England was a first.

“Every place we went was a unique and lovely experience,” said Jack Carew, a member of Legatus’ Board of Governors, who traveled with his wife Barbara. “The Tower of London was one of the high points, no pun intended, and we were allowed to visit and pray inside St. Thomas More’s cell, something specially arranged just for us. Seeing sites like this and Tyburn [where many Catholics were martyred] and learning about the trials and tribulations of the Church in England was a real eye-opener for me.”

Fr. Joseph Fox, OP, leads a tour

Pilgrims also visited Tyburn Convent, which honors the 105 English martyrs executed nearby; touched the altar upon which Blessed John Henry Newman said his first Mass; and at the Dominican Studium in Oxford, met some of the monks serving as modern-day missionaries to an increasingly post-Christian Britain.

Legates lauded the work of Legatus staff and Fr. Joseph Fox, OP, who served as the pilgrimage’s spiritual director. A canon lawyer, Fr. Fox taught at the Angelicum and worked at the Vatican for 22 years.

Already at work on next year’s pilgrimage to Ireland and Rome, Legatus conference director Laura Sacha encourages members to make a pilgrimage abroad in order to become more faith-filled and better-informed ambassadors for Christ back home.

Matthew A. Rarey is Legatus Magazine’s editorial assistant.