One very excited group of Catholic educators from the archdiocese pilgrimaged to the heart of Italy in June. There, they learned more about our Catholic faith, grew in community with their colleagues and took a little time to simply enjoy “la dolce vita”—the good life.

“This experience was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of this year,” said John Ruff, Alter High School theology teacher. “I saw sites where Eucharistic miracles occurred, learned about some amazing saints and got to know so many people …. It’s a wonderful thing to meet the people you are on mission with, even if they don’t work at your school. We’re all on mission together.”

Ruff traveled through Italy while studying abroad in college but said this pilgrimage was a whole new experience. “What my [previous] experience lacked was a community of like- minded Christians who sought after the Lord,” he explained. “I thought this pilgrimage was the perfect opportunity to return to these incredibly holy sites and deepen my love for the Lord, but this time with other people from my Catholic Community.”

Fellow pilgrim and Alter High School theology teacher, Greg Romer, hoped the pilgrimage would inspire his work in the classroom. “I’ve never been to Italy, and as a theology teacher who has studied Church history, architecture and the saints, it was time to experience them first-hand.”

This was exactly the trip’s goal, said Veronica Murphy, pilgrimage organizer and Director of Religious Curriculum and Resources in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Schools Office. “We wanted to take Catholic educators to key Catholic sites to open their hearts and minds to a much bigger understanding of what Christ has done and continues to do in our Church,” explained Murphy. “The goal is to change lives and provide opportunities for our educators to bring this back to the classroom.”

From June 2-11, 29 pilgrims traveled throughout Italy, starting in Rome to learn about St. Peter, apostolic succession and the wider Catholic Church and to visit the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and particular basilicas. They also stopped in several small cities, like Assisi, Siena and Sorrento, to hear about Saints Francis, Clare and Rita and about Eucharistic miracles.

Murphy said she will never forget the entire trip. “It was an excellent pilgrimage. Many shared personally how this was impacting them. They had never seen anything like this before, and it really, as one person put it, ‘rocked my world.’”

Deputy Superintendent of Catholic Identity and Faith Formation, Father Jacob DuMont, LC, helped organize the pilgrimage. He previously studied in Italy as a seminarian for about five years and was ordained a priest at St. Paul Outside the Walls. As the group’s chaplain, he said Mass every day and led prayers and reflections at religious sites.

“One of my greatest highlights was visiting the [remains of ] Blessed Carlo Acutis” at the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi, Father DuMont said. Blessed Acutis was born in 1991 and died of leukemia in 2006. “Working in our Catholic schools, especially our high schools, it was so impactful to see a boy who is about to be canonized a saint who lived in our times.”

Mikki Dunkley, principal at St. Vincent Ferrer School in Cincinnati, joined the pilgrimage to nourish her faith and share with her school community. “Sometimes in education, it is very easy to lose sight of developing our own faith because we are working to build the faith of our students,” she said. “This experience will allow me to share my faith from a renewed place.”

Dunkley’s favorite part of the trip was attending Mass as a group every day, especially the Mass at one of the Vatican’s small chapels. “The feeling that came from celebrating Mass in these holy places that are significant to our history as a Church was overwhelmingly powerful,” she explained.

Visiting Assisi sites also proved memorable for Dunkley, including the Basilica of St. Clare, which contains the cross from which St. Francis heard Jesus’ voice asking him to rebuild His Church. “That was an especially emotional moment for me,” she explained. “As educators, we are called to rebuild the Church through the education of our children. This moment felt like a reaffirmation of my calling as an educator.”

“I saw people really change through the experiences, teachings and discussions,” Murphy said. “I was profoundly moved while watching how God was working the hearts and minds of everyone on the pilgrimage. I can’t wait to see the fruit this will have in their lives and the lives of those they touch.”

Murphy said the archdiocese hopes to offer educators more pilgrimages to key Catholic sites in the near future, and Ruff believes educators should seize the opportunity.

“A pilgrimage is a reminder of why we teach at a Catholic school,” Ruff said. “It’s to evangelize and bring about the Kingdom of God in our corner of the world. Whether you’re a math teacher, English teacher or theology teacher, our mission is the same: helping kids encounter the Lord. That’s what this pilgrimage helped me realize in a deeper way.”

Dunkley agreed, “This will transform how educators teach about the Catholic faith. Not only would they be able to share what they have seen and witnessed firsthand, they would also be teaching from a deeper sense of renewed faith.”

This article appeared in the August 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.