“From April 11-18, the senior class went on their senior pilgrimage to Spain and France. Their journey began in Barcelona where we had a chance to visit the Holy Family Basilica. It is an impressive church that is still under construction after more than 100 years of work.
The second day, the group had Palm Sunday Mass at our sister Regnum Christi school in Barcelona, Santa Isabela School. The students were amazed to see the familiar school crest in a different country. They had some time to play soccer together at the school. They were all given hats as a goodbye gift from the school director.
The third day brough the group to a monastery on top of a mountain called Montserrat. There is a popular statue of Mary in the monastery church which has received pilgrims for over 1000 years. The seniors all loved this quaint little town. Most of all, they loved the spectacular views from our elevated location. They were able to get some prayer, shopping, and hiking in that afternoon. They had a blast.
The next day, they headed off to Lourdes to spend some time at this beautiful shrine where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. Since then millions of pilgrims have come to this shrine to be cleansed in the spring water which has been known to have healed many from illnesses and handicapped conditions. Some of our students were able to bathe in the spring water. It was a beautiful moment of peace and prayer together.
The group returned to Barcelona to celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass in the Cathedral with the Cardinal of Barcelona. Although the Mass was long and in the Catalan language of that region, the students enjoyed very much the solemnity of that moment. On Good Friday, the group returned to Detroit.
In all, the students loved the pilgrimage. It accomplished the major goals they had going into the trip which were having a good time bonding together as a class, seeing some exotic sights, and drawing closer to God. Many have said that they would love to go back to those places someday. What made the pilgrimage such a powerful moment was observing how these students were able to go deep in prayer together as a class. It was beautiful to see them be a witness to each other spiritually. May this be the lasting memory for them as they move on from Everest.” -Fr. Thomas Salazar, LC
Click here for a highlight video create by senior Erica Walker!
