April 21, 2010

BMHS students go on pilgrimage 

During Holy Week, students and staff members from Bishop Machebeuf High School stood within 6 feet of Pope Benedict XVI.

“The pilgrimage changed my life,” said senior Katieri Thielke.

From March 27-April 5, 35 students and seven staff members from the Catholic high school traveled to Rome on what was described as “the pilgrimage of a lifetime.” Students experienced the privilege of praying with the Holy Father four times during their trip.

Additional highlights included praying at the Holy Stairs where Christ walked before his crucifixion on Good Friday, traveling to Assisi and praying at the grave of Pope John Paul II. The group, led by campus minister Peter Burds, also toured Scavi, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John Lateran Basilica, Mary Majors Basilica, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Catacombs, Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.

“Rome was the perfect place for a pilgrimage because we were able to deepen our faith by seeing where it began,” Burds said. “We walked where popes, saints and martyrs walked and gave their lives for the service of Christ.

“The theme of the pilgrimage was ‘coming home’ because, for Catholics, Rome is the home of our faith,” he said