Each January, seminarians from The Saint Paul Seminary pilgrimage throughout the world as part of priestly formation. These experiences are intended to have a lifelong impact on their future ministry.
“These trips are so important for priestly formation,” Br. Didacus Gottsacker of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace said. “Not only do they enrich and renew the spiritual lives of the seminarians, but they also stress the importance of some major facet in the life of the priest.”
Gottsacker was one of several seminarians who made the annual trip to Mexico City to encounter the poor there and visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Each of these places allows the seminarians to enter into the experiences in ways that cannot be limited to a textbook for the life of a priest,” Gottsacker said.
At the same time, another group of seminarians closer to priestly ordination were across the globe in Turkey and Greece visiting important Christian sites in the life of the early Church. The “footsteps of St. Paul” pilgrimage replaced the seminary’s usual journey to Israel — due to the ongoing conflict in the area — stopped at many of the sites where the seminary’s patron preached, prayed, lived and ministered.
That includes the home where Mary, the mother of Jesus, is believed to have lived after the Resurrection; the town where St. Paul grew up; and the place where the first woman was baptized into the Christian Church.
“This pilgrimage really opened my eyes to the scriptures in a new way,” said seminarian Peter Romens of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “For the first time, [I saw] the places where the events that I have read about, and prayed about, actually took place.”
Meanwhile, back in the United States, other seminarians traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life.
“There were many blessings,” said Diocese of Helena seminarian James Semling. “The moment that affected me most was going to the Holocaust Museum. Intimately related to the topic of life and human dignity, the tragedy and hurt caused in World War II moved me to want to actually incarnate fighting for the dignity of others in my daily life.”
Scroll on to view photos and seminarian reflections from each trip.
Greece and Turkey: Third and fourth-year seminarians follow in the footsteps of St. Paul
“This pilgrimage really opened my eyes to the scriptures in a new way, for the first time seeing the places where the events that I have read about, and prayed about, actually took place. There was a beautiful moment for me in Phillipi, seeing where Paul made his first converts in Europe and recognizing that the work of evangelization which Paul began isn’t done and that I have a role to play in the continuing to spread the Gospel. My three biggest take aways were an increased familiarity with the scriptures, an increased desire to go out and spread the Gospel, and a deeper understanding/appreciation for the Church in Muslim majority countries.” — Seminarian Peter Romens, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Second-year seminarians minister to poor in Mexico City
“Visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Aztec ruins served as a visible reminder of where the Church had been, where it is now, and where it plans to go to ensure that the message of Our Lord and Lady are received by all peoples.” — Br. Didacus Gottsacker, Franciscan Brothers of Peace
Seminarians march for life in Washington, D.C.
“There were many blessings associated with the March for Life: getting to know my classmates better, being in the nation’s capital, seeing Vice-President Vance, but the moment that affected me most was going to the Holocaust Museum. Intimately related to the topic of life and human dignity, the tragedy and hurt caused in World War II moved me to want to actually incarnate fighting for the dignity of others in my daily life.” — James Semling, Diocese of Helena