Fr. Michael and Mary Lingaur of Lake Leelanau along with 100 other people made their holy pilgrimage to the Vatican.
The trip was planned last fall and the uncle and niece duo arrived when Pope Francis passed away Easter Monday.
“This pilgrimage has grown into so much more than we could have imagined. Our itinerary has been completely overhauled multiple times since we first signed up,” Mary said.
When it was announced that Carlos Acutis was going to be canonized, his mass happened to be scheduled for while we were in Italy during this trip. Acutis is the first millennial saint. The Britishborn teenager died of leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006. He was originally scheduled to be canonized April 27 but has since been postponed since the death of Pope Francis.
The company organizing the trip rearranged the schedule so they could attend. Then, when the pope passed away just days before our trip, the whole itinerary changed again. The canonization Mass was delayed indefinitely, and instead Michael, administrator at St. Francis of Assisi in Traverse City, and Mary almost had the opportunity to attend the pope’s funeral. Unfortunately, those plans ended up falling through.
“But the consequences of the popes’ death can be felt throughout the whole city,” Mary said. “Cardinals are flying in from all over the world to begin the conclave, more pilgrims have flocked to the city to pray at Pope Francis’ new tomb, and everyone is both somber about the loss of the Pope, yet excited and hopeful about the anointing of a new pope. It’s definitely an interesting time for Catholics, especially being here in Rome.”
One of the more encouraging things for Michael and Mary about the experience is seeing all the young people here who came for the canonization, but instead participated in the Pope’s funeral.
“They received a really powerful message from Pope Francis that he had preached before his death, which brought joy, especially during the resurrection season of Easter,” Mary said.
The Sistine Chapel has been officially closed in order to prepare for the conclave, which is a completely sequestered process, from May 7th when the conclave begins until they elect a new pope and the white smoke rises from a stove in the Sistine Chapel.
This year is also a Jubilee Year for Catholics. Basically, every 25 years is an important, year-long celebration. So the fact that the Pope also passed this year is pretty significant, according to Mary.
“They’ve been preparing the city for this Jubilee celebration for a year: cleaning and organizing, restoring statues and getting volunteers. Lots of logistics. They already expected millions of pilgrims this year. Now it will be even more,” she said.
Pope Francis died April 21. Born December 17, 1936, the Roman Catholic Church ushered in a new era of leadership when he was elected pope in 2013.
As the first pope from the Western Hemisphere, the first from South America, and the first from the Jesuit order, Francis brought many reforms to the church and a reputation for humility.
Francis was known for his reform policies and humble demeanor. He donated his private bank account to prisoners on that way out. Francis is by far the most progressive pope in history marking a radical shift in the Catholic Church’s treatment of gay people during his first year of papacy.
The search for a new pope has now begun.
