Reflections from the Holy Spirit Parish, St Clair-Erskine Park Marian Jubilee Pilgrimage 2025
On 21 October 2025, 44 pilgrims from Holy Spirit Parish, St Clair-Erskine Park, and friends stepped onto a plane and into a story of grace.
Over many days, we journeyed through Fatima and Lourdes, Paris, Zaragoza and Montserrat, Lisieux and Nevers, Ávila and Segovia, Cascia and San Giovanni Rotondo, Milan and finally Rome, where we passed through the four Holy Doors of the Papal Basilicas in this Jubilee Year of Hope. In Rome, the pilgrimage reached its climax with Mass at the Chapel of St Monica, where Pope Leo XIV was ordained a priest. Earlier that day, we had also attended the papal audience, a moment of great joy for the pilgrims, especially seeing Pope Leo in person – someone whom many participants had met years ago when he was still “Fr Bob” during his visits to Australia, and particularly to St Clair.
The Pilgrims with their Pilgrimage to the four Papal basilicas certificates. Image: supplied.
Each place was more than a stop on a map; it became a moment of grace, a blessing many never imagined they would experience in their lifetime.
In these holy places, our Augustinian charism came alive: restless hearts searching for God, journeying together “with one mind and one heart on the way to God.”
Pilgrims reflect on experience
For many, the pilgrimage began with a quiet but insistent call. Majella, one of the pilgrims, recalls having “that immediate desire to join” right in the middle of deep family challenges.
A late confirmation email felt to her like “a sign to proceed and experience this opportunity of a lifetime for a deep encounter with God.”
Valerie speaks of “a deep longing for spiritual renewal and a desire to reconnect with my faith in a meaningful way,” especially through a call to peace “not only felt in prayer and sacred places, but one I long to cultivate in every aspect of life.”
Lorena also describes feeling “very privileged and with no regrets” in joining the Marian Jubilee Pilgrimage 2025. She thanks the Lord “for the strength that he blessed me with during the 17 days’ spiritual journey,” sensing that He was leading her “forward on the path of righteousness, patience, perseverance and resilience.”
For Marthese, “it was always a dream to be a pilgrim,” a dream that finally came to life when the parish organised this journey. She and her husband Paul came home feeling “spiritual blessings and more focused at time of praying,” grateful that “all places we’ve been were exceptional. Never thought we’d see the beautiful basilicas and places and stories about the saints and their lives.”
Basilica of St Rita of Casia. Image: supplied.
Tess had dreamt of a Jubilee visit to Rome but could not find a place on any pilgrimage until, quite unexpectedly, “someone backed out and there was one spot left. I took it to mean that it was God’s will that I take this spot.”
Gene and Nida, now in their 70s, weren’t sure at first if they could still manage such an intense journey, but slowly, through prayer, their hesitation turned into a clear “yes.” Gene speaks of “unexpected graces, answered prayers, serendipitous moments, and a happy camaraderie” among pilgrims of different ages and backgrounds.
To anyone considering a similar journey, he simply says: “If you come with a humble and sincere heart, it is life-changing.”
Basilica of St Mary Major. Image: supplied.
Nida, still glowing with gratitude, adds that in these sacred places “I felt I was in heaven. All my dreams came true… We went to heaven and now we are back.”
Mary’s presence became real in the places where she has been especially honoured.
Valerie describes Montserrat as the place where she could “lay down all my burdens and truly let go,” standing before the Black Madonna and discovering “a feeling of peace within.”
Elna, kneeling before Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, brought all her discouragements, worries for her brothers and fears about her health. There she heard again Mary’s assurance to St James: “Stand firm in faith. Do not be afraid. God’s work in you will bear fruit.”
Pilgrims meet the Pope at the Papal public audience. Image: supplied.
Lorena remembers that in the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Mary “showed me her divine light,” reassuring her that grace would “pour upon each and every one of us.” In that place she felt “healing, hope and strength” and truly believed in Our Lady’s loving intercession during those days.
Gilda, who had longed to visit Lanciano, was “extremely emotional” standing before the Eucharistic miracle, knowing she was “in the presence of the blood and body of Christ.” At Montserrat she remembers entering the chapel, seeing the back of Our Lady and then being allowed to venerate her face-to-face: “We were in the presence of great things… Wow!” The journey convinced her that “Mary must have a higher priority in my life… My pledge is to attempt to say the rosary each day.”
At Lourdes, Richard and Beatrice experienced “inner peace, cleansing, connection with prayer” and a profound sense of “oneness with fellow pilgrims” during the candlelight procession.
For Eileen, Mass and processions at Lourdes and Fatima were “an experience beyond words.” Even an accident in Milan became a moment of grace: she is still discerning whether it was “truly an unfortunate accident or, in some way, a blessing,” having just been learning how the saints embraced suffering.
But a Marian pilgrimage in the Augustinian spirit is never a private journey.
Corrine says the group “felt like my extended family… we were forging friendships, connecting with each other and building a community which will last us a lifetime.”
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, our Marian pilgrimage has shown us that hope is not an idea but a way of walking: together, with Mary, with the saints, with one another – until our restless hearts finally rest in God.
With thanks to the Augustinian community, the story originally appeared in the December 2025 edition of The Augustinian. Read the full story here (pp3-8).
This pilgrimage aligns with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Community, Formation and Prayer – and objectives to be a Church renewed in spirit and prayer, and one that walks together. Visit Synodality to learn more.
