Our alumni, Marysia and Elizabeth, visited Rome this spring. In this interview, they shared with us their amazing and unforgettable experience.
When did you visit Rome? How did that trip come about?
We visited Rome earlier this year from March 21st to April 2nd. We travelled to Rome with our chaperone Terelinda, a numerary of Opus Dei from Ottawa. Opus Dei is a Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church which was founded by a priest Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer in Madrid, Spain in 1928. It is an organization that helps people to seek holiness in the middle of their ordinary lives because all of us, as baptized Christians, are called to sanctity.
Elizabeth:
I heard about this trip from my older sister, Catherine, who went on the same trip when she was a grade 12 student. I’ve always wanted to travel to Europe and this was a great opportunity to do so with a group of people who could help me in my faith.
Marysia:
I heard about this trip during one of the youth group meetings run by Opus Dei. The idea to spend the Holy Week in Rome instantly caught my attention, and I decided I would do everything to be able to go.
During our time in Rome, we attended the Holy Week services, the conference Incontro Romano, the Papal audience, and a meeting with the Prelate of Opus Dei, Fr. Fernando Ocáriz.
The primary aim of Incontro Romano was to gather students from all over the world to exchange ideas about the importance of hospitality and creating happy, welcoming homes. To exercise this concept, girls from all over the world prepared and shared different appetizers for the other groups. Our group from Ottawa was proud to present an Atlantic salmon appetizer. (It looked and tasted amazing!)
You worked very hard towards fundraising for the trip. Can you share your experience?
To fundraise for this trip, we advertised our cleaning and babysitting abilities in the community. We were able to deep clean homes of many people, all of whom were very generous in supporting us for our trip. We also organized multiple bake sales at our school and one at St. Maurice Parish. It was hard work, but in the end, it was well worth it.
We are so thankful for the generous hearts of all who supported us through prayer and financial donations. Most importantly, we would like to thank our parents who helped us prepare for the trip and supplied the funds that we weren’t able to raise ourselves. Without all these caring and thoughtful hearts our trip would not have been possible.
Before we get into other details, let’s start with the most popular question addressed to anyone who has visited Rome. Did you see the Pope? How “close” did you get?
We certainly did see the Pope! The first time was when we went to the Vatican on Palm Sunday, the second time the following Wednesday for an audience, and lastly at the Easter Sunday Mass. We were very fortunate all three times because the Pope was very close; we were seated near the fence where he passed by. Seeing Pope Francis with a radiant smile on his face was so amazing and brought such joy to our hearts. We will cherish and remember this experience forever.
What are the other highlights of your trip?
We visited Saint Peter’s Basilica, attending Holy Mass celebrated in the crypt in front of the grave of our Church’s first pope. We also visited the Catacombs of Saint Callisto, walked inside the Colosseum, took part in the Way of the Cross by the Colosseum, as well as spent time in many other places including the Vatican Museum.
What is your favourite or most unforgettable experience throughout the journey?
Marysia:
For me the most unforgettable moment of the trip was when we visited the Scala Santa Chapel on Good Friday. The chapel was built around the relic of the steps Jesus climbed shortly before His crucifixion. The Holy Staircase has 28 steps that I myself climbed on my knees, repeating a short prayer three times at each step: “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world”. I spoke the prayer with conviction and the intention to take part in Jesus’ passion, in order to ease His pain. As I approached the top, I felt a deep sorrow in my heart and I couldn’t stop my tears. This experience allowed me to feel so close to Our Lord in His last minutes of suffering, when He showed us how He really and truly loves us despite all our faults and shortcomings.
Elizabeth:
My most memorable encounter from this experience occurred on a crowded Roman bus when talking to the middle-aged numerary, Terelinda, with whom we travelled from Canada. I asked her how she had discovered what God’s plan was for her life. She told me how she had come into contact with Opus Dei and how it had helped her develop her spiritual and prayer life. She was stirred by the generous and pious nature of her friend who was already a numerary (they were in grade 12 at the time). She quickly realized that God wanted this life for her too and she responded immediately. Her sister also discovered her vocation around the same time and the two sisters had strengthened each other and rejoiced together. Terelinda was almost in tears when she talked about how God had called her to this beautiful life of self-sacrifice. It was very moving to see how happy she was in living out the plan God had for her. She also told me about her struggle against cancer. She had had cancer a number of years ago and she described how scared she had been. She prayed to God that she would not lose her hair and, miraculously, the first thing the doctor said to her when she went to receive chemotherapy was that her hair would not fall out. She said she had been astounded by the number of people who’d prayed for her. Her recovery went very well and she now works in Opus Dei. Her incredible gratitude for her healing and the trust she had in God inspired me so much. I asked her to pray for me because I have no idea what God is calling me to do and I was challenged by her story to more actively seek out God’s will. That evening the words “Do not be afraid” echoed continually in my mind.
What did you learn from this trip? What do you find most inspiring to you and your Catholic faith?
Marysia:
This trip opened my eyes to the greatness and the beauty of our Catholic Church and the blessing of having such an inspiring Pope. Despite the secularization of the world, there are still many young people who want to follow Jesus Christ. Visiting the Catacombs helped me recognize the reality of the lives of the first Christians who had to hide from persecution and often sacrifice their lives for their faith. However, the Church continued to grow and thrive with the grace of God. This trip gave me hope and trust that our Church can overcome any problem and challenge.
Elizabeth:
I learned through the sincere nature and attitude of the numeraries and other pilgrims around me about the strength God gives us to endure much mortification. During the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, it was so beautiful to see everyone standing and praying together outside in the rain, late at night. Many of these people had been fasting and walking all day. The Pope himself had not eaten and it was 9pm. It was truly a time for us to forget ourselves (or try to, despite physical discomfort) and focus on our Lord’s passion, and to accompany Him. No one was complaining and even though we couldn’t understand what the Pope was saying we could hear the fervour in his voice and read our own prayers in the conference guide. Some of the meditation points that particularly struck me were:
- “Not my will but Yours be done.”
- “Let us unnail our Lord from the cross, lowering Him into the arms of His blessed Mother with our mortification, penance and love.”
- “I am not my own, I have been bought at a great price.”
- “I will strip myself of things that distance me from You!”
- “How could I ever complain of my own suffering after I have looked at Jesus on the cross?”
