Today was no ordinary Sunday for our pilgrim group as we joined thousands of people from all over the world to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. This Mass was the Marian celebration for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, and we prayed for all the people from our three Marian Churches - St. Mary in Uxbridge and Shrewsbury and Our Lady of the Lake in Leominster. We arrived more than an hour before Mass in order to find seats with the best view of the altar. Our four priests - Fr. Mike, Fr. Juan, Fr. Dennis O'Brien and Fr. Nick Desimone - received tickets which enabled them to concelebrate the Mass with Pope Francis. They went inside to vest for Mass while the rest of the group found seats in the square. As a preparation for Mass all the people prayed the rosary together and awaited the opening procession with the bishops, cardinals and Pope Francis. At the end of Mass as we prayed the Angelus, the Pope asked us to pray for the people of Haiti who experienced devastation at the hands of Hurricane Matthew. The Pope also announced the names of new Cardinals from 11 countries around the world, including three from the U.S. After greeting the some of the priests in the priest section by the altar, Pope Francis got into his Popemobile and was driven around the square so that he could greet the people in the Square and beyond.
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon for a walking tour of some of the famous sites in the center of Rome. Our guide took the group to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona. Lots of visitors and native Romans enjoying this afternoon. We were on our own this evening for dinner which gave people the opportunity to go out and enjoy the city at night.
Know that we are holding our parish family in our prayers. If you have any special prayer requests or intentions you would like us to pray for, please send them to us. We'll remember them each day during Mass. You can share your prayer requests and intentions with us by clicking the “Add a Comment” button below. Please pray for us too!