Chronicle of Tuesday 26 August

Dear parents, grandparents, friends and all the rest of the pilgrims,

After many days, today we were able to get up a little later. Those extra hours of sleep are hugely appreciated. We went down to breakfast and found yesterday’s leftover pizzas, which the youngest didn’t hesitate to claim, knowing they might never again have a breakfast that fills them up quite like this one. We also had some little individual bags ready with a few bits and pieces that came in very handy for snacking on during the day in Rome. Later, onto the coaches and off to the Catacombs of St Callixtus.

There, with great emotion and deafening applause, we welcomed the best team of our pilgrimage, the Seniors, who were the last ones still to join us. Now we’re all here: the great family that the three parishes make up, complete. How thrilling!

Luís, the guide there, began the day with a general explanation of how the first Christians lived in the time of the Roman Empire and how the catacombs served as their cemeteries during the persecutions. The galleries form a network of tunnels 20 km long. Dozens of martyrs, 16 popes and a great many other Christians were buried there. How brave they were, these first brothers and sisters of ours, who did not waver in their faith when it came to defending Christ before the oppressor and who defended it to the death. Their daring is born of a radical trust in the victory of truth, of a hope that does not break in the face of persecution and of a love that does not give way to fear. They did not seek personal glory, but faithfulness to the Gospel; they turned weakness into strength through prayer, communion and constant witness. Their witness is now a flame that also lights our way: it invites us to hold on to our faith with serenity and courage, to defend the dignity of every person and to live the truth with mercy. May their example encourage us to embrace the cross firmly, knowing that Christ’s victory is already assured and that, united as the universal Church, we keep moving forward, even when the road gets hard.

After this general explanation, we were able to see first-hand what this underground necropolis was like, going deep into its passages and walking among the niches where our brothers and sisters in the faith once rested. St Cecilia, patron saint of music, was also buried there, and we sang a hymn to her right there, where her tomb was.

Once the visit was over, the group split up to spend the day in Rome, with instructions to meet up again at 18:00 where the coach picked us up yesterday. The group of pilgrims without parents (PSP from now on, as we call them in Catalan) and the Senior section took the vans and went off to enjoy a delicious lunch. Some said the macaroni they had today was the best pasta dish they can remember ever tasting.

Afterwards, the vans dropped them near Piazza Venezia, where they split into different groups. From then on, they were able to visit some of the city’s most iconic historical monuments, such as Trajan’s Column, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain. Along the way, they stopped at the Church of the Gesù. Some were struck by the realism of one of the crucifixes in this imposing sixteenth-century church, whose interior is decorated with beautiful gilding that really invited you to take in the beauty of its walls and ceilings. St Ignatius of Loyola is buried in this church, and a relic of St Francis Xavier is also kept there: a hand, to be precise.

At 18:00 we all met up again to go for dinner at the buffet of the hotel where the Seniors are staying. We were given the relevant notices for tomorrow: we will attend the general audience presided over by Pope Leo XIV. It is a privilege to be able to be so close to the Vicar of Christ on earth. We are eagerly looking forward to what tomorrow holds, and we are off to bed with the joy of having enjoyed such a splendid day with the whole great family of our parish community.