|
The four major basilicas in Rome are the main pilgrimage destinations - St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls. However, pilgrims may also go to the Holy Land, their diocesan cathedral or other officially designated locations.
In the Geraldton Diocese, the following churches are designated as pilgrimage sites:
• St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Geraldton
• Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church in Mullewa & Mass Rock
• St Cecilia’s Church in South Hedland
Those who cannot make the Jubilee Pilgrimage due to illness or other circumstances are nevertheless invited to take part in the spiritual journey that accompanies the Jubilee Year.
The Jubilee calls us to embark on a journey. Like Abraham who ventured from his own land of Ur (Southern Iraq) to the Promised Land (cf. Genesis 12:1 & Deuteronomy 26:5), and Jesus, who resolutely walked the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem (cf. Luke 9:51), we set forth on the road of Christian discipleship, leaving behind our selfish motives and interests to embrace a God-centred life.
When we make this journey, we not only change location, but also ourselves. A pilgrimage is an experience of conversion, “of putting on the mind of Christ” (cf. Philippians 2:5) and striving to conform one’s life to God’s holiness.
Christian hope is dynamic and illuminates the pilgrimage of life,
demonstrating the face of those brothers and sisters who are
companions on the journey. It is not like a lone wolf wandering,
but a journey as a people, confident and rejoicing, that moves
toward a new destination.
|
