Vatican City, Nov 19, 2009 / 13:01 pm
Yesterday, the Church celebrated the feast of the dedication of two of the four Roman basilicas: St. Peter's and St. Paul Outside the Walls. Among those in attendance at the celebrations were pilgrims from St. Anselm's parish in Philadelphia, Pa.
CNA met with Father Keith Chylinski and 23 of his parishioners as they celebrated this event as part of a 10-day pilgrimage planned in large part to follow the footsteps of Padre Pio through Italy. Fr. Chylinski said they put the trip together for the "benefit of the parish" and St. Paul's was one of the final stops on their journey.
The group from St. Anselm's began planning the trip a year ago, including the stop for Mass at the Chapel of San Sacramento at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on November 18 in their plans, not knowing at the time that this was the anniversary of its dedication. Fr. Chylinski said it was "God's providence that we had Mass here” on that particular day.
The pilgrims had already visited Padre Pio's home in Pietralcina and the Capuchin monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo where he lived for 42 years. The group had also stopped in Assisi as well as Lanciano, the site of a Eucharistic miracle in the 8th century. St. Paul's was on the schedule in addition to other Roman sites.