Summertime brings long days, icy treats and much-needed family vacations. But several diocesan families traded a relaxing vacation for a rigorous spiritual — and physical — exercise: walking the 130-plus-mile “Via di Francesco” from Assisi to Rome.
The diocesan pilgrimage was organized by Alejandro Reyes, a member of Regnum Christi, an apostolate of consecrated men and women, lay members, and priests within the Legionaries of Christ. Reyes, a parishioner at St. Timothy Church in Chantilly, invited families from his parish as well as Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge, St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax, and St. Veronica Church in Chantilly. Legionaries of Christ Father Vito Crincoli and Father David Spillane, who reside in Potomac, Md., served as chaplains for the group.
The Via di Francesco pilgrimage passes significant sites from the life of St. Francis of Assisi. While gaining traction among Catholics, it is still a little-known pilgrimage.
Reyes said he had done the Camino de Santiago in Spain previously, but felt the need to make a pilgrimage to Rome during the Holy Year. “It was because of the pilgrimage to Rome, to go through the Holy Door in St. Peter’s (Basilica),” he said.
The Ryan family, parishioners of St. Veronica, brought their children, Mary Catherine, 18, and Mae, 9. For their mother, Loraine Ryan, the pilgrimage was a homecoming.
Loraine had moved to Rome during the Great Jubilee in 2000. She and her husband, Barry Ryan, were even married in the Cappella del Coro in St. Peter’s Basilica in 2005. “I just thought, what an experience it would be as a family to do this and to bring our family and our girls closer to God and to St. Francis, to walk in his footsteps,” she said.
Their kids were surprised, to say the least. “I usually steer away from activities that could involve the possibility of coming across snakes and spiders, but I knew that this would bring me closer in my relationship with God,” Mary Catherine said.
Father Vito helped the 26 pilgrims prepare for the pilgrimage physically and spiritually in the months prior. “You have the spiritual prep work, which is basically learning about who St. Francis is; getting a good understanding of the spirituality of St. Francis,” he said. “And then you walk. You need to get accustomed to walking at least 4 to 6 hours, which is important.”
The pilgrims met in Assisi July 4 and enjoyed a few days spiritually preparing themselves for the journey ahead. They visited the tombs of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi and joined a candlelit Marian procession in celebration of St. Mary of the Angels. Mae even had the chance to pray before the body of Blessed Carlo Acutis, whose canonization is set for Sept. 7. “The spiritual part of the journey, my favorite part was seeing … Carlo Acutis,” she said. “He’s going to become a saint.”
But the real work began July 7, as the pilgrims set upon their 10-day “camino,” averaging 15 miles per day across mountainous terrain and sleeping only six hours each night. “Everyone was excited,” Loraine said. “We had all committed to walking the Way of St. Francis and recognizing what he did for our faith.”
After leaving Assisi, they stopped for the night in Spello before making an uphill, 12-mile trek to the hilltop town of Trevi July 8. “These places are not in a typical tourist plan,” Loraine said in a video filmed en route. “They are almost untouched by outsiders.”
The following day they hiked nearly 17 miles to Spoletto. “By about the third day, you get your ‘pilgrim legs,’ and you feel like you can walk forever,” Barry said. A cold gelato in Spoletto awaited the pilgrims.
As they hiked, the pilgrims meditated on their individual pilgrimage “purpose,” a spiritual exercise encouraged by Father Vito. The pilgrims offered their physical sufferings and exhaustion for various prayer intentions, whether it be for family members or the Camp Mystic victims who died in the Texas floods days earlier.
Every day, the pilgrims found a spot for Mass, often a small, historical chapel at the destination. One day, they had Mass at a small, Franciscan-run rehabilitation center for men suffering from addiction. “Physically exhausting yourself before Mass opens the (spiritual) window a bit more,” Barry joked.
Despite the grueling climbs, Loraine said a feeling of peace permeated the pilgrimage. “At certain times of the walk … all of a sudden I’d get a lump in my throat, and tears would start to fall,” she said.
While the Via di Francesco would be difficult for any pilgrim, it was especially challenging for Mae, the youngest of the 26 pilgrims. According to Barry, the 9-year-old walked “120 miles in 10 days. She’s a miracle.”
As the miles ticked by, Mary Catherine began keeping a tally of the snakes the group encountered, as the youths encouraged and teased each other. “They welcomed me, and we had a great time. I realized that we are not so different personality-wise, and we kept each other going when it got tough along the walk,” she said.
The pilgrims passed many of St. Francis’ landmarks along the route. On day three, they paid a visit to a walled hermitage where St. Francis briefly stayed. Five days later, they visited a cave that legend holds is where he experienced a revelation about the future of the Franciscan order.
On day nine, the pilgrims were granted a rare treat: a bus ride from Rieti to Grecio, the birthplace of the Nativity creche. After Mass — in which all readings pertained to Christmas Day — the pilgrims made their way to Monte Sacro, just outside Rome.
The final day of the pilgrimage, July 16, the pilgrims walked to St. Peter’s Basilica. The children and teens took turns carrying the “pilgrim cross of hope,” from Castel Sant’Angelo to St. Peter’s Tomb. Mary Catherine led the group into St. Peter’s Square as the pilgrims chanted the Litany of Saints. After entering through the Holy Doors, the Ryan family paused by the Cappella del Coro. Loraine and Barry renewed their vows in front of Father Vito and their daughters in the chapel where they married 20 years ago. Farther up the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, the other couples had an opportunity to renew their vows as a group.
The pilgrimage was over, but Loraine “wanted to show my family ‘my Rome.’ ” The family visited the Trevi Fountain, the Column of the Immaculate Conception, and the nearby Spanish Steps, complete with a private Mass celebrated by Father Spillane at the Mater Admirabilis Chapel at the top of the steps.
The pilgrimage was always a team effort. The Ryans described the pilgrimage as “intense, but a good intensity.” “This trip completely transformed (me) in ways that I didn’t know it could,” Mary Catherine said. “I felt incredibly close to the Lord going to Mass every day.” Vito agreed.
“The first day, it was storming, and I’m like, ‘Lord, what did I do?’ And it was really the same feeling I felt when I had joined the seminary,” he said. “The Lord asked me to say ‘yes,’ that’s all he asked me to do. Whatever challenges come, the Lord will take care of that, but you just keep your part.”
