Over 1,000 people from various countries took part in the Jubilee of Hope pilgrimage and witnessed the election of Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.
An atmosphere of profound joy and steadfast devotion marked the recent pilgrimage* organized by Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The event, which took place from May 8 to 10, brought staff, volunteers, friends, and benefactors from dozens of countries together in Rome. Among them were a dozen Canadians, accompanied by the archbishop of Montreal, Msgr. Christian Lépine, and two ACN Canada staff members, including National Director Marie-Claude Lalonde.
“Pilgrims from Canada were pleasantly surprised to see just how international Aid to the Church in Need really is,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde. “Among the highlights, pilgrims told me they were very touched by the Way of the Cross on Friday, May 9 in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle. The usual stations were replaced by stories of Christians oppressed and persecuted for their faith, which were recounted and over which the pilgrims prayed.”
Seeing the new pope in a minibus
The pilgrimage took place from May 8 to 10, and included moments of prayer (Masses, recitation of the Rosary), but also conferences and testimonies from ACN’s project partners about the poor and persecuted Church in different parts of the world. The days also included moments of relaxation and fun. Furthermore, participants had the opportunity to pass through the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica, which was a crowning moment of the Jubilee.
The highlight of the pilgrimage, originally meant to be an audience with Pope Francis, ended up being the historic opportunity to witness, in St. Peter’s Square, the election and presentation of Pope Leo XIV, and to receive at close distance his Urbi et Orbi blessing.
“It was an extraordinary pilgrimage in the true sense of the word. We had the opportunity, right at the end of the opening Mass of the pilgrimage, on Thursday evening, to hear the ‘Habemus Papam’ announcement,” said Marco Mencaglia, Project Director at ACN International, describing it as a “moment of grace, which we will all remember and carry in our hearts every time we see Leo XIV.”
For their part, the Canadian pilgrims experienced this moment… in a minibus! “We left Saint John Lateran by minibus for St. Peter’s Square,” explains Mario Bard, Head of Information for ACN Canada, who was also on the pilgrimage. “But heavy traffic prevented us from arriving on time. In the end, we watched the announcement and presentation of the new pope on the basilica’s loggia, right next to the square, in the middle of the traffic and on an electronic tablet. Even though we weren’t directly in the square, it was a wonderful moment for the Canadian pilgrims.”
The next morning, May 9, ACN pilgrims passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which for all pilgrims was “a moment of great emotion, in the light of this joy received the day before,” says Marco Mencaglia.
ACN’s mission, “an indispensable task for building up the world”
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, president of the organization (photo), was also present. At 80, he wasn’t eligible to take part in the conclave. He encouraged pilgrims to remember that the Lord’s passion is not a finished event but continues in many parts of the world today.
“Where is Jesus in agony today? Certainly, in countless places and situations. Jesus is nailed to the cross by all these numerous circumstances and urgent needs for evangelization and suffering, toward which the Church leans. The nails are injustices, wounds, discriminations, intolerance, deprivation of freedom, destruction, and acts of violence inflicted upon many of our brothers and sisters. Jesus cannot come down from the cross unless we remove these nails… And even if we cannot remove them all at once or everywhere, we must do all that we can to raise awareness of these situations and, in any case, begin by removing these nails from our own hearts.”
“In the face of certain dramatic situations, some may ask, ‘God, where are you? Why don’t you do something?’ To such a heartbreaking question, there is indeed an answer, which challenges our conscience: ‘Of course I have done something; I created you!’” the cardinal exhorted in his opening speech to the pilgrims.
On Saturday, 10 May, during the homily of the closing Mass at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Cardinal Piacenza summed up Aid to the Church in Need’s mission: “to assist Christ in His work of salvation, to help Him be known and loved, to help Christ save humanity by supporting the life of the Church, especially where she faces the greatest difficulties. We could describe the work entrusted to us, by grace, as a fruitful collaboration in building up the Church, an indispensable task for building up the world.”
Christian identity: serving the poorest
Above all, the pilgrimage to Rome was an opportunity for ACN to show its benefactors and friends that this mission is carried out in a spirit of deep communion, which links the faithful from wealthy and privileged countries to those who suffer from poverty, neglect, or persecution, and that Saint Peter, whether in the guise of Francis or of Leo XIV, is the visible sign of this unity within the whole Church. Testimonies by victims of persecution from countries such as Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, and Syria helped drive this message home.
This point was underscored by Archbishop John Joseph Kennedy, of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in his homily on May 8, in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. “It is by grace that we are the ones who are in a position to give and to assist. It could so easily have been the opposite. We could easily be the ones waiting for assistance. We could have been the ones forced to beg. Let us always be thankful.”
The archbishop reminded pilgrims that “at the heart of our gathering and of our prayer today is the urgent reminder of one of the most essential aspects of our Christian identity: our call to serve the poor and those in need. This spiritual and practical mission that Christ gave us is not a suggestion, an optional extra. Rather it has been at the very core of the Gospel message for two millennia and forms an integral and practical expression of Christ’s commandment to love. It is, without exaggeration, an effective barometer and measure of how we love our neighbour.”
*In Canada, Spiritours (permit of Québec) was the Travel Agency collaborating for the pilgrimage.
