Novato parish unites to send teens on ‘Year of Hope’ pilgrimage to Italy

By Catholic San Francisco

Accompanied by their pastor and youth minister, 15 young pilgrims from St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Novato spent 10 days in Italy this February visiting Padua and other Italian cities rich with Catholic history and tradition, including Assisi, Rome and Venice.

The pilgrimage was a parish response to the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis. The Holy Year invites Catholics to reconnect with their faith through pilgrimages to local, national or international holy sites.  After crossing the Holy Doors in Rome, the young pilgrims joined Catholics from around the world in embracing the theme of the 2025 Jubilee: “Pilgrims of Hope.” (Learn more at sfarchdiocese.org/jubilee-year-of-hope/).

Led by youth minister Alejandra Cervantes and accompanied by six adult leaders, the trip included Pastor Father Felix Lim. “At the heart of their journey was a powerful encounter with the Church’s living tradition and the grace of the Holy Year,” he said in a summary of the trip submitted to Catholic San Francisco March 24.

The pilgrimage was made possible through the generous support of the St. Anthony parish community, said Father Lim. The young people worked hard in a variety of fundraisers to cover their pilgrimage travel costs, but parishioners collected more than $25,000 to help them. Even the Knights of Columbus at St. Anthony got involved, holding a bingo fundraiser that added an additional $2,500 to the travel pot.

In his backpack, Father Lim carried across Italy 341 prayer cards with personal prayer intentions. These handwritten petitions were placed on each altar where the group celebrated Mass, drawing the entire parish into the Jubilee pilgrimage in spirit and prayer, he said.

Even more moving was the spiritual support the pilgrims had while away, said Father Lim.

“They were remembered in prayer at every Mass and rosary offered throughout the pilgrimage,” he said.

Eucharist-centered itinerary

Cervantes said the pilgrimage was “no ordinary trip abroad,” with every step of every day made with specific intention. She called the 10-day itinerary a “carefully woven tapestry of prayer, community, catechesis and spiritual formation.”

The group celebrated daily Mass sometimes in majestic basilicas and other times in humble chapels.

Father Lim offered homilies that invited the youth into deeper friendship with Christ. Each city and sacred site became an opportunity for conversion, reflection and awe, he said.

Venice inspired wonder and beauty, while Padua offered a renewed closeness with parish patron, St. Anthony.  Assisi offered joy and simplicity, and Rome revealed the grandeur and unity of the universal Church.

The tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis

In Assisi, a deeply moving moment took place at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis. After walking the quiet streets of the medieval city, the teens entered the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for adoration. Surrounded by incense and prayer, the teens knelt in silence before the visible tomb of Acutis. “Some wept quietly, overcome with emotion,” Cervantes recounted. “You could feel their hearts being stirred.”

Grace was not limited to the chapels and cathedrals, she said. It was just as alive in the ordinary moments, from sharing meals to navigating train stations and walking together through unfamiliar streets. “We had our challenges,” she said, including homesickness and other big emotions, “but we faced them with honesty, love and prayer.” The adult leaders helped create an atmosphere of trust where teens felt safe to open their hearts and encounter God in one another, she said.

Transformation

Cervantes said that by the final days of the pilgrimage, something had shifted in the teens. They lingered in church to pray. Some asked to go to confession. An adult leader described the change as “subtle but unmistakable.” “They came back different, in the best way,” she said.

For many of the teens, this was their first time abroad, and for all of them their first pilgrimage. They returned with new prayer habits, deeper friendships and the quiet awareness that they are part of the mystical Body of Christ that spans centuries, continents and their own hearts.

At a special parish dinner held after the teens returned, Luna Chacon, a 10th-grader at Credo High School, thanked the parish community for their generosity on behalf of all the teens. She described the pilgrimage as faith defining and expressed gratitude for its unexpected gifts.

“You gave us the opportunity to seek Him, and we found Him in ways we never expected,” she said. She described such a moment when viewing Michelangelo’s painting of the Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel.

“It hit me that God is always extending His hand to us,” she said. “The question is, will we take it? Will we let Him into our lives and allow Him to transform us? Because when we do, it is truly powerful.”

In an age when many express concerns about the Church’s future, the Jubilee Year of Hope offered a radiant sign of just that, said Cervantes.

“The Holy Spirit is moving powerfully in the hearts of young people, ready to ignite their faith through sacred encounters, intentional formation and the courage to say yes to Christ’s invitation,” she said,

This story was compiled by Catholic San Francisco from a summary submitted by Father Felix Lim, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua. stanthonynovato.org