Pilgrimage to Rome

Join us this May Bank Holiday (1-4 May) in Rome as we visit places associated with St. Ignatius and the early Jesuits!

Highlights include:

•⁠ ⁠Sunday evening Young Adult Mass with the Jesuit Young Adult Ministry of Rome

•⁠ ⁠Sunday Angelus with Pope Leo in St. Peter’s Square

•⁠ ⁠Shared prayer and pilgrimage to Ignatian sites in Rome

Please note: Pilgrims make their own travel & accommodation plans.

If you’re interested, please reach out to Fr. Kensy for more information: yam@jesuit.org.uk

We’ll be joining the Jesuit Young Adult Ministries in Southall, Stamford Hill, Edinburgh and Glasgow!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTyVcuYjfxM/?igsh=c3hvYWFuYjl2YnN0

FAQs

1: What does it cost? Up to you! Pilgrims make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation according to their schedules and budget. In the past, some have used AirB&B, others hostels, others again hotels or pensione. Travel – you’re advised to search consolidator sites like Skyscanner, Opodo, etc. asap but don’t book the first fare deal you see, unless it’s really good; online fares can rise or fall quite suddenly. We are not tour operators, so we organise only the pilgrimage itinerary when we met in Rome.

2: So if there’s no fee for the pilgrimage overall, what about day -to-day activities? No charge, but you could get the Jesuit leaders a cappuccino or gelato. It will be good to make small donations to some places we visit. Rome city buses (“ATAC”) or Metro are reasonable – check details online. And if you choose to go to a gallery or museum, the entrance fee is your expense. Also any restaurant meals; we’d split the bill.

3: When does it start & finish? We are flexible to some extent but broadly aim to start around late afternoon on the Friday and end around lunchtime on Monday. Pilgrims are free to stay longer if they can, to do more themselves; some have mentioned taking a train to Assisi, for example.

4: So we don’t all travel together on the same flight? Correct.

5: What kind of activities will happen? it’s an Ignatian Rome pilgrimage so the focus will be on Jesuit connections. We would start and finish at Chiesa del Gesù, the mother-church of the Jesuits worldwide, where we’ll pray at the tomb of Ignatius. We’ll see many other places also, such as Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola but also some fabulous sites such as the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, the Campidoglio and the Colosseum. We’ll aim for a good Roman meal together on the Saturday evening in the lively Trastevere quarter. If the Holy Father is in the Vatican on our weekend, we’ll attend the Sunday noon Angelus in St.Peter’s Square. Sunday evening will see us join the Jesuit YAM / MAG+S young adult Mass and social, 7pm, at Bernini’s wonderful Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, the 3rd Jesuit church constructed in Rome. On the Monday morning we’ll conclude with a visit to the Rooms of St.Ignatius and celebrate a meditative Mass in the room where he died in 1556.

6: What won’t we do? There probably won’t be time to visit any of the Roman catacombs, or the “Scavi” (archaeological excavations under S.Pietro) or the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, or attend the full Wednesday General Audience with the Holy Father; but (a) if you chose to stay beyond Monday afternoon, you could do these individually or (b) we can discuss possibilities & be flexible, even discerning!

7: Who will be there? We won’t be able to meet Pope Leo in person but we will meet several Jesuits and young adults who are involved in Young Adult ministry in Rome and globally. There will probably be a briefing meeting on the exciting new developments in MAG+S, explaining what it’s all about, and some information about the International MAG+S Gathering at the next World Youth Day in Seoul, S.Korea, 2027. And we’ll meet our counterparts on the Sunday evening at Mass.

8: Weather and clothing – any advice? It will be getting quite nice in Rome at that time but it can be rainy, so something waterproof is advisable. We’ll walk quite a lot and many of the streets are cobbled & uneven so trail or hiking trainers or shoes would be a good idea. We won’t need to dress formally at any point.

9: The spiritual element of a pilgrimage is important, isn’t it? Of course! We’ll celebrate Mass several times and there will be short prayer services including Rosary at various points. The essential Ignatian prayer is the Examen, so we’ll all encourage each other to make an Examen each evening. Where possible we’ll do so together, using the format of the “MAG+S- Circle”. But if you’re planning to be part of this, start praying now for each other and for God’s blessing on our pilgrimage, through the intercession of St.Ignatius and all our Jesuit saints and blesseds!