Once again, the pilgrimage to Rome with the CARF Foundation It describes unique moments that are not experienced on other trips to the Eternal City.
«Because, in addition to visiting the Vatican Caves, the crypt of the Popes, exploring the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, the catacombs of Santa Priscilla, and walking non-stop through Rome, there are moments experienced on this pilgrimage that are truly impressive,» explains one of the pilgrims on this trip.
These moments, as one would expect, include Holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and the audience with Pope Leo XIV. Also noteworthy are the events organized by CARF to meet the priests and seminarians the Foundation supports: a discussion with Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz, prelate of Opus Dei and grand chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross; the reception of the rector of the University, Professor Fernando Puig; a lunch at the PUSC with students and professors, in which experiences are exchanged, and a discussion with priests from different countries of the Tiberine Priestly College who are studying a degree at the Holy Cross in Rome.
«But if there's one thing I would highlight, it's the discussion with the hundred seminarists from the Sedes Sapientiae Seminary. Getting to know them firsthand, sharing their experiences, the needs of their countries, and the role of the Catholic Church makes you reflect that your donations »They are going to specific people in service to the universal Church," another pilgrim recounts.
And, as a final touch to this journey, another pilgrim highlights: «The care of the liturgy and the singing at all the masses is also overwhelming.».
We will participate in the traditional Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square. It will be a special occasion to see Pope Leo XIV up close as he travels around the square in an open vehicle to greet pilgrims from all over the world.
At the end of the meeting, the Holy Father will impart his blessing to those present.
After the papal audience, we will discover some of the Vatican's most iconic landmarks. We will uncover the secrets of St. Peter's Square and visit the Church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus to participate in Holy Mass.
The day will continue with lunch at a restaurant near the square and a visit to the Vatican scavi, the necropolis located under St. Peter's Basilica, where the tombs of the Popes are found.
We will visit the catacombs of Santa Priscilla, one of the oldest underground cemeteries in Rome, with more than 13 kilometers of galleries spread over two levels.
Among its treasures is a representation of the Virgin and Child, considered one of the oldest surviving Marian images. The painting, dated between 230 and 240, depicts the Virgin with the Child and a prophet pointing to a star above her head.
Villa Tevere is the headquarters of Opus Dei and houses the Prelatic Church of Santa Maria della Pace. The remains of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer rest in its main altar. The crypt also contains the remains of Blessed Álvaro del Portillo and Javier Echevarría, Saint Josemaría's first and second successors.
We will have a meeting with Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, current prelate of Opus Dei and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
In the heart of Rome is the Sedes Sapientiae International Seminary, where seminarians from different countries prepare for the priesthood through spiritual, academic, human and pastoral formation.
During the pilgrimage we will be able to share a day with their students, from 26 countries, and learn firsthand about their life of study, prayer and community in service to the universal Church.
The program will include opportunities for meeting and fellowship with priests residing in Tiberino, who will share their testimonies with us. In addition, on Sunday we will attend the celebration of Holy Mass and pray the Angelus with the Pope.
We will also walk through part of Baroque Rome, discovering some of its churches around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon of Agrippa, one of the best-preserved monuments of Antiquity in the city.
Marta Santínjournalist specializing in religion.
Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
In today's Gospel (cf. Mt 22:34-40), the Lord leads us once again to the heart of our faith. A lawyer, to test Jesus, asks him, «Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?» (v. 36). The Master responds by quoting a passage from Deuteronomy: «You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength» (v. 37; cf. Dt 6:5). Christ indicates that the dimension of love is central to our relationship with God. It is not enough to know that God exists, that he is unique, or that he is omnipotent; the Lord asks us for a personal relationship: the one true God wants to be our God.
In our encounter with Him, the commandment of love is neither an obligation nor an imposition. We cannot love “by command.” Love for God is the very essence of human desire, which finds its fulfillment in communion with Him. Therefore, our love can be authentic when it is a response to His love, which always precedes us. Hence the need for a totality that involves the whole person: heart, soul, and mind.
To the first commandment, the Lord adds a second: «You shall love your neighbor as yourself» (Mt 22:39). This rule of life springs from the same source; therefore, Jesus says, it is like the first. From our intimate relationship with God, we are able to see ourselves and our neighbor with the same eyes as Christ, from his perspective. In this way, selfishness is overcome, and self-love becomes charity; our existence is directed toward others and becomes a gift for those around us.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux understood this well: “Only love,” she wrote, “can move the members of the Church to action; if this love were to die out, the Gospel would no longer be proclaimed” (cf. Complete Works, Manuscript B, 3v°, Burgos 2006, 261). Without it, in fact, our faith would be deprived of its content, our good works would be reduced to mere moralizing, and our hope would be in vain.
Dear friends, we cannot truly love God without that love overflowing toward our brothers and sisters. And we cannot truly love our neighbor except as children of the same Father who first loved us in his Son Jesus.
Let us ask the Lord for the grace of a new heart, capable of embracing and living the great commandment. May the Virgin Mary intercede for us, in whose Immaculate Heart there is nothing but love.
Dear brothers and sisters:
I continue to follow with deep concern the grave humanitarian situation in Yemen, particularly in the city of Taiz, where the population is suffering from a lack of food, water, and medical care. I make an urgent appeal for a cessation of hostilities and for the Yemeni people and all the peoples of the region to be guaranteed the right to live in peace.
I assure you of my prayers for those who died or were injured last Friday in the terrorist attack against the faithful of the Orthodox Church of St. George ad Hamoud in Jordan. I express my solidarity with that community and with the entire country, which is distinguished by its peaceful coexistence and respect among different religions.
We continue to pray together for peace. The day after tomorrow, October 27, let us unite spiritually with the representatives of the Churches and religious leaders who will gather in Assisi for the 40th anniversary of the meeting convened by Saint John Paul II. Today, more than ever, it is clear that wars, in addition to sowing death and destruction, impoverish and harm the world. May the Lord inspire decisions for dialogue and peace!
I greet all of you, dear faithful of Rome and pilgrims from different countries.
I welcome the members of the Roman Academic Center Foundation, from Spain; the group from St. Ciaran's College in Ballygawley, Ireland; and the group from the “Saint John Paul II” Schools, from the Diocese of Opole, Poland.
I am pleased to welcome the heads of the Ceremonial departments of some Italian ministries and government departments.
I greet the members of the association “Solidarity in good hands”, from Castiglion Fiorentino, and the group of contemporaries from Concorezzo who have come on pilgrimage for their 70th anniversary.
I wish you all a happy Sunday.
carf@fundacioncarf.orgLandline: +34 914 029 082Mobile: +34 638 078 51145 Conde de Peñalver Street.
