Devoted St Marys teacher embarks on a pilgrimage to Italy

When Mrs McDonald was selected to join the twelve day “Inspired to Lead Pilgrimage,” she was prepared to spend just under two weeks with 40 people who were religious leaders from within the Melbourne Archdiocese. These 40 included three priests and two nuns who taught them lots along the way. Her goal was to build the capacity of the teachers at St Marys with what she learned. After speaking with Mrs McDonald you could tell that this trip deepened her faith, filled her with knowledge and taught her lots of things about the Catholic faith.

While a trip to Italy is always fascinating, a Pilgrimage is much more than that. Mrs McDonald explained that a Pilgrimage is a journey involving a renewal of faith and soul searching, which is both enriching and rewarding.

“It was fascinating to visit sites in Rome where people sacrificed their lives for their faith,” she said.

The first location of the Pilgrimage was in Rome. The focus there was to begin a deeper understanding of the historical context of Rome. In Siena the focus was to learn about the teachings of St Catherine of Siena, who got in trouble a lot for talking to God instead of doing her jobs. Her body got buried but a long time later she got dug up and her body was not decomposed. On the Pilgrimage Mrs McDonald got to see her head and finger, which are on display inside a chapel dedicated to her. The last place that they visited on the Pilgrimage was Assisi. Here they focused on getting inspiration from St Francis and St Clair.

One of the highlights for Mrs McDonald was the San Sebastiano Catacombs, an ancient burial ground where Catholic people practised their faith. She also enjoyed the walk on part of the Appian Way, which is the long walk that the Romans took to spread across Europe.

Mrs McDonald was very excited to share her learnings and experience with me as I interviewed her, it was evident in her body language and her smile. She was proud to share her photos and stories with me. She also explained that this trip made her question some of the relics that she saw.

“I wondered if we really need to keep and praise some of the relics that I visited,” she said.

It was very clear that this Pilgrimage has changed, for the better, Mrs McDonald’s view of the Catholic faith and will be of great benefit to St Marys in many ways in the future.

Please note: Images were added to this Junior Journo competition entry by Kids News editors and minor edits applied as per publishing requirements and editorial guidelines on the site.