From Nov. 10 to 17, Cardinal Frank Leo, with helping hands from Connaissance Travel, guided 108 Catholics from the Archdiocese of Toronto on a Jubilee Pilgrimage to the Eternal City. The Catholic Register’s Quinton Amundson accompanied the expectant travellers from the departure gate in Pearson Airport to their faith-renewed return flight home. Here are his impressions and accounts from his fellow pilgrims, starting with the last day in Rome and then going step by step from Day 1. 

Throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto Jubilee Pilgrimage to Rome, sojourners from Canada’s largest Catholic community expressed that the week was grounding and spiritually transformative. 

The farewell dinner on Nov. 16 at Ristorante Venerina gave the pilgrims the opportunity to express gratitude to the coordinating team from Connaissance Travel and Tours, the archdiocesan staff and Cardinal Francis Leo himself. 

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Elio Luongo delivered a thank you address on behalf of the over 100 lay congregants. He declared “this was not just an itinerary, but a formation.” 

Throughout the visits to papal basilicas, Assisi, the Sistine Chapel and other spiritual landmarks, Luongo said he and his fellow travellers kept Leo’s wisdom top of mind: “Make room for God and put God first.”

Leo humorously said the group that departed on Nov. 10 from Toronto Pearson International Airport “learned, experienced, ate, walked a lot…and slept very little.”

More poignantly, Leo said that a deepening in fidelity to Jesus was achieved.

“I think the experience stretched our faith,” said the Montreal-born prelate. “It made us ask new questions. It provided moments of prayer, quiet and desire for deepening the relationship with who God is for us. Maybe, if we were back home, we wouldn't have had that opportunity.”

The sixth and final non-travel day of the pilgrimage began very early in the morning as the journeyers determinedly strode through the cobblestone streets to secure decent seats inside St. Peter’s Basilica for the Jubilee of the Poor Eucharistic celebration presided over by Pope Leo XIV. 

Fr. Tim Hanley, chair of the archdiocesan Jubilee committee, encouraged pilgrimage participants throughout the week to mediate on the spiritual poverty in their lives that needs healing from God, and consider how they outreach to the poor. 

The Pope addressed in his homily an increasingly pervasive form of poverty in the world today: loneliness. He offered an antidote.

“We must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness,” said the Bishop of Rome. “Let us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live, transmitting this attitude within our families, living it out in the workplace and in academic environments, in different communities, in the digital world, everywhere, reaching out to the marginalized and becoming witnesses of God’s tenderness.”

Following Mass where the pilgrims were among 15,000 worshippers, they dispersed for an afternoon of free time. 

Before convening for dinner, multiple Toronto Catholics sat down with The Catholic Register to reflect on the spiritual gifts they received during the week. 

Elizabeth Cherian of Brampton, who as a retiree likes to attend Mass at multiple different parishes in her area, expressed her deep admiration for Cardinal Leo celebrating five times during the pilgrimage. 

“I am always so happy that the Cardinal gives (me) communion with his holy hands,” exclaimed Cherian. “It makes me feel doubly blessed.”

In the days leading up to the departure for Rome, Cherian had returned from a 16-day October pilgrimage through Austria, Ireland, Slovakia, Poland, Medjugorje and other nations. During the Jubilee Year of 2025, she sought healing for some personal difficulties in her life and in order to walk closer to God. 

Receiving a plenary indulgence by passing through the Holy Doors of the four major papal basilicas - St. Peter’s, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside The Walls – was restorative for her. 

“It felt like I was in heaven on Earth,” she said. “I didn't want to leave these magical places.”

Margaret Mckenna-Tomei, born in England and who now attends Church of the Holy Family in Toronto, felt the pilgrimage would “be a good thing at this time in my life to alleviate a lot the punishment that I may still have to pay for my sins.” 

She offered praise for the experience.

“It was awesome,” said Mckenna-Tomei, who travelled with her daughter Siobhan. “It was good to meet all these people from Toronto and see the surroundings. I think everything worked as it was supposed to.”

Both Cherian and McKenna-Tomei extended gratitude to all the organizers of the pilgrimage.

Day 1: Roman arrival

Travelling in the company of Cardinal Francis Leo, 108 Catholics from 40 different Archdiocese of Toronto parishes landed in Rome Nov. 11 for a week-long Jubilee pilgrimage.

Jet-lagged but eager, the pilgrims of all ages and backgrounds hit the ground running with visits to the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus after the overnight flight from Pearson International.

During the opening pilgrimage Mass at the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, a basilica entrusted to the Carmelite religious order, Cardinal Leo spoke in his homily about the petitions that could be offered to Jesus during this week-long sojourn in the Eternal City.

“I’m sure you, like me, are bringing Him intentions,” said Leo. “Perhaps you have a specific grace to ask of The Lord. Perhaps there is healing, a relationship, a job, or a difficulty – or perhaps thanksgiving for the graces already received.”

Ideally, by visiting the “heart of the Catholic Church – the city of saints and martyrs,” the cardinal said, the hope is that when he and the pilgrims “go back in a week or so, we are not the same persons who left Pearson.”

Before departing for the City of Seven Hills, each person, including this reporter, was bestowed a pilgrim book containing the prayers, readings, psalms and hymns for each of the daily liturgical services celebrated by Leo within the major papal basilicas and other historic houses of worship.

Leo alluded to the collect prayer extensively during his homily, calling for believers in Christ to be “firm in faith, joyful in hope and active in charity.” He reminded them that “joy is a product of love,” and sparks action on behalf of God.

“Love is not just an emotion in our hearts,” he said. “Because of our love of the Lord, we get going. We become active in spreading His Kingdom. Because of love of Him, it activates us into building His Kingdom of justice, peace and holiness.”

November 12 marks the first full day of the pilgrimage. Participants experienced Pope Leo XIV’s General Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square, completed the pilgrim’s passage through the St. Peter’s Basilica Holy Door, and celebrated Mass at the Altar of the Chair, presided by Cardinal Leo, in the Basilica.

Day 2: Spiritual clarity

Wilfred and Jean Guthrie, a couple who will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary in December, were told in advance of their participation in the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Jubilee Pilgrimage that they would be made different by their time in Rome.  

The couple, blessed with three daughters and seven grandchildren, told The Catholic Register that their first two days in the Eternal City have suggested to them they could indeed be changed by this journey.

Wilfred felt this strongly walking into Saint Peter’s Basilica, through the Holy Door, on Nov. 12.

“It was very spiritual,” said Wilfred. “Just coming up to the basilica and then walking through the door, three or four times, it was almost like my breath was taken away. It was, and tears. Our friend Deacon Tony had said, ‘you'll come back a new person.’ I felt it at that point.”

Emotions stirred in him during the Mass Cardinal Francis Leo celebrated at the Altar of the Chair in the Basilica.

“(I) was shaking and tears were coming down my face during Communion,” said Wilfred. “It was very much a spiritual experience.”

Jean, who said of the pilgrimage that “I suspect it’s going to change me as well,” said “the procession that walked in towards the Holy Door was amazing.”

She, Wilfred, the other 106 participants in the Archdiocese of Toronto pilgrimage, and over 50 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Montreal participating in a parallel journey also arranged by Connaissance Travel and Tours, walked down the famed Via della Conciliazione street into St. Peter’s Square. They sang psalms, recited a litany to the saints, prayed several Hail Marys and read from Romans 5:1-5.

The Guthries began Nov. 12 bright and early. Parishioners at St. Anne’s Parish in Penetanguishene, Ont. and also active with St. Florence Mission Church in nearby Thunder Beach, they wanted to arrive at The Vatican hours in advance of Pope Leo XIV’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. So did the entire Archdiocese of Toronto pilgrimage group.

Being early paid off big time. The prime seats the large group secured gave them an up-close view of the Bishop of Rome as he rode around on his Mercedes-Benz electric popemobile. Tens of thousands of people listened as the multilingual Pope shared remarks in English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.

Pope Leo XIV stressed the need for true fraternity in his remarks to English-speaking pilgrims. He encouraged attendees to be inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi.

“When our daily interactions with others are genuine rather than mere polite formalities, we grow in joy and in love,” said the Pontiff. “In this regard, Saint Francis of Assisi is an excellent example, for he greeted all whom he met as brother or sister. Saint Francis knew that everyone has the same needs: to be respected, welcomed, heard and saved.  Indeed, this is the Good News and a core tenet of our Christian faith.”

On Nov. 14, all the Archdiocese of Toronto pilgrims will visit Assisi to experience the key settings of the beloved saint’s life.

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Wilfred, who said it “was something that was very, very special” to see the Pope up close, shared an insight he had when awaiting the papal audience among a sea of devoted Catholics from dozens of different countries.

“I looked down at the cobblestones and I saw this really tiny ant and I thought how insignificant that ant was,” shared Guthrie. “Then I realized that when I was looking around all these people there and realizing how insignificant I was there, and yet the Lord said that ant and I are both his creation. Realizing that was like, ‘wow, as insignificant as I am, He loves His creation. That was really special. It was a moment of clarity for me.”

Nov. 13, the third full day of the pilgrimage, features visits to the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and a passage through the Holy Door of St. Mary Major Basilica, followed by Mass with Cardinal Leo as presider. The schedule ends with a walking tour to the famed Rome tourist spots, including the recently renovated Trevi Fountain.

Day 3. Embodied beauty

Louie Di Benedetto has made four trips to Rome in his life. Each time has featured visits to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

In fact, during one of his journeys, he made several visits over two weeks to experience the enormous art collection amassed by popes over the centuries.

A testament to the seemingly limitless treasures of the museums, Di Benedetto still discovered a new attraction while he and his group from the Archdiocese of Toronto Jubilee pilgrimage toured the landmark on Nov. 13. He found a coin museum, and each coin and stamp featured the likeness of the different popes throughout history.

Given there are so many tourist sites to discover in Rome, why does he gravitate so strongly to St. Peter’s Basilica, the museums and the Sistine Chapel?

“The other day we were inside St. Peter's Basilica,” said Di Benedetto. “Every time you go in, it's just jaw-dropping, the grandeur and the size. As nice as Rome is, like doing a tour of the other sites, you can't compare.

“The first time I came in 2016 was two weeks strictly at the Vatican. (One could ask) ‘weren't you bored? Wasn't there other stuff to do?’ And it's like, ‘I didn't get through what I wanted to get through in those full two weeks.’”

At 34, Di Benedetto is one of the youngest pilgrims. A real estate agent, he explained why younger generations could benefit from these meditative pilgrimages, and that the visits need not be the exclusive province of retirees.

"As someone who lives in the city and has a stressful job, a very connected job, as a lot of young people do today, I needed to get away,” said Di Benedetto. “It's just been three days, and my mind is so much clearer. I’m not ready to go back yet, but when I do go back, I'll be ready to work and be focused on work from that perspective. You come back rejuvenated (and) a different person.”

The afternoon saw the pilgrims pass through the Holy Door at St. Mary Major Papal Basilica, considered the oldest and most important Marian Shrine in Western civilization. Leo, who founded the Canadian Mariological Society, was naturally in his element celebrating Mass in the ornate chapel devoted to the Mother of God.

Joyce Pace, a longtime teacher with St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Elementary School in Brampton, Ont., shared her epiphany during the liturgical service inside the basilica, particularly when Leo faced ad orientem, toward the altar, during the blessing of the gifts 

“When I saw that the Cardinal doing the Mass and his back was facing (the congregation), that brought back memories as I am from pre-Vatican II. This is close to the traditional Latin Mass. I have been contemplating for the longest time about taking Communion on the tongue.”

She had previously conducted academic research that indicated to her that so many people “don’t understand it is the Body of Christ they are taking.”

“I’ve been realizing that I need to take it on the tongue as I do not have consecrated hands,” added Pace. “I kept pushing myself to do it but chickening out every time I came to the altar.”

She followed through and received the Eucharist on the tongue from Cardinal Leo. 

Pace found out about the pilgrimage from a church bulletin and immediately decided “I have to go.”

“This is the perfect reason to be away on a pilgrimage, and the Cardinal himself is leading,” she Pace. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The first three days have already proved meaningful and going forward on day four, Pace and her fellow pilgrims will experience Assisi, to grow in greater connection with St. Francis and St. Carlo Acutis, as his tomb is displayed in this town in Italy’s Umbria Region

Day 4. Signs of peace

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

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.

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 rings 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. Franciscan friars enlightened the pilgrims with historical stories and artistic facts about the Papal Basilica and Sacred Convent of St. Francis of Assisi. 

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

Day 5. The Good News

“It is a great day for Canada in Rome.”

The declaration was made by Fr. Tim Hanley, chair of the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Jubilee Committee, to a busload of pilgrims from the largest Canadian Catholic community during an early evening ride on Nov. 15 through the streets of the Eternal City. 

Hanley informed the pilgrims that earlier in the day, Pope Leo XIV had welcomed Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) President Pierre Goudreault of Quebec, Archbishop Richard Smith of Vancouver, and Fr. Jean Vezina, general secretary of the CCCB, for an audience at the Holy See. During the meeting, the pontiff identified 62 Indigenous artifacts from the Vatican Museums' ethnological collections for transfer to National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs).

In a joint statement, the CCCB and Holy See said Pope Leo XIV “desires that this gift represent a concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.”

Hours after the momentous meeting, Goudreault and Smith proceeded into Santa Maria Della Salute Church to concelebrate with Cardinal Francis Leo as the Archbishop of Toronto took possession of his titular church, dedicated to Mary, Our Lady of Health. 

The Archdiocese outlined in a statement that each member of the cardinalate is assigned a titular church in Rome “as a way to connect them symbolically to the ancient heart of our faith, a tradition that dates back to the early days of Christianity.”

Leo will not be involved in running the 75-year-old parish in Rome’s Primavalle district. Responsibility will remain in the rector’s hands. The relationship will be a prayerful and fraternal bond. The 54-year-old native of Montreal did vow during his homily that he would keep the parishioners of Santa Maria Della Salute Church in his prayers.

Over 100 Greater Toronto Area Catholics partaking in the Jubilee Pilgrimage observed the special liturgical celebration. Dignitaries in attendance included British Cardinal Arthur Roche, Fra' John Dunlap of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and Joyce Napier, Canada’s ambassador to the Holy See.

A ritualistic ceremony of installation preceded the formal Mass. The parish priest met Leo at the parish entrance to offer him the Crucifix. Leo kissed the Crucifix and then proceeded to bless everyone in the congregation with holy water. He then observed a brief moment of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament before retiring to the sacristy to prepare for Mass.

During his homily, mostly in Italian, he called it “a true and deep spiritual joy” that all in attendance made the effort and took the time to be present for the celebration. His spiritual message centred on moving forward in holiness of life by “seeking intimacy with Christ, availability to the Holy Spirit and authentic devotion to the Blessed Mother. This will help us walk in the ways of the Lord. This will help us receive the graces the Lord wants to give us.”

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Leo gave each churchgoer a rosary and a prayer card as tokens of gratitude. At the end of Mass, the parish bestowed on him a replica of the San Damiano Cross, in front of which St. Francis of Assisi renounced his family's wealth to devote his life to serving God. 

Leading up to the Mass, the fifth day of the Jubilee pilgrimage featured passages through the Holy Doors of both St. John Lateran Basilica and St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica, and a journey through the Catacombs of San Callisto. An estimated 300,000 early Christian martyrs are buried there.