Cardinal Francis Leo is leading a diverse group of Toronto Archdiocese Catholic on a Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome this week. Over the course of the trio, The Catholic Register’s Quinton Amundson will be with the pilgrims step for step, filing regular dispatches on their spiritual journey.

Sharing that it has “been a tumultuous few years,” Paula Ducepec knew she needed restful, rejuvenating experiences.

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She began by attending a few retreats with the Loretto Sisters at the Mary Ward Centre in Toronto starting more than a year ago. Entering 2025, she knew she should participate in a spiritually enriching experience during the Jubilee Year.

Ducepec, a teacher and guidance counsellor at the Hawthorn School for Girls, an all grades Catholic institution in North York, believed a pilgrimage could be optimal.

A churchgoer at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto, Ducepec found out about the archdiocesan Jubilee pilgrimage offerings in a parish bulletin. After determining that the summertime Jubilee of Youth experience was not the one for her, the notion of pilgrimages went out of sight and mind for a time.

“Then just one day I was like, ‘I think I really should go to a pilgrimage.’ I looked online about when this was happening because I knew that there was another one. I looked it up and then it just said that the pilgrimage registration was happening in two hours. I booked it. Never looked back. No plans, it’s semi-spontaneous.”

Appraising her experience four days into the Archdiocese of Toronto Jubilee Pilgrimage with Cardinal Frank Leo, Ducepec said the prayerful day of the visit appealed to her background as a history teacher, anthropologist and avid student of archaeology.

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The fourth day featured a visit to meditative Assisi, three hours from bustling Rome, to behold the Basilica of Saint Clare, the Papal Basilica and Sacred Convent of St. Francis of Assisi and the tomb of St. Carlo Acutis. 

So many of the Toronto pilgrims expressed awe throughout the day about beauty of the frescos depicting key moments in the lives of St. Francis and Jesus Christ, the medieval architecture, its stunning hillside geography and peaceful atmosphere. Observing the Cross, in front of which St. Francis of Assisi renounced his family’s wealth to live a life centred around God was a particularly poignant moment for many.

“His embrace of poverty and love of the environment was beautiful,” said pilgrim Ophelia Gatchalian, who attends St. Maria Goretti Parish in Scarborough, Ont.

Regarding the artistic splendour, Ducepec beamed over the golden stars on the ceiling of St. Francis Basilica. She was struck by discovering the presence of mirrors behind the stars to reflect the candlelight, and marvelled at how “the paintings are purist."

“When you (are purist) when it comes to paintings, the more they're broken the more that the people who preserve them (ensure) they're untouched by modern hands” she said. “All that is being touched is keeping the structures behind them straight. This area is like one of the ring of fires because there's a lot of earthquakes in it and it's been kept whole.”

Locals guided the immersive tours along the streets of Assisi, through St. Clare Basilica and to the Tomb of St. Carlo Acutis. Fransican friars enlightened the pilgrims with historical stories and artistic facts about the Papal Basilica and Sacred Convent of St. Francis of Assisi.

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Cardinal Leo ended a day defined by contemplation with a Mass in the Basilca’s Porziuncola chapel.

Day 5, Nov. 15, begins with passages through the Holy Doors of St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls basilicas. The afternoon is highlighted by a visit to the Catacombs of San Calisto. The day ends with Cardinal Leo taking titular possession of Santa Maria della Salute Church. Being accorded ownership of a Roman house of worship is an honour bestowed on all members of the cardinalate.