March 2, 2014
On Sunday, March 2, 47 parishioners went on a pre-Lenten pilgrimage. The pilgrims traveled to Chicago and toured St. John Cantius church, where they attended Mass. St. John Cantius is one of the patron saints of Poland and St. John Paul II had a particular devotion to him. The pilgrims also went to Marytown in Libertyville, IL, which is the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered his life for another prisoner at the Auschwitz death camp. The pilgrims viewed a video on St. Maximilian, toured the Kolbe museum, and then consecrated themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary. By traveling on a rented coach bus, the pilgrims could pray the rosary together, and watch a DVD about the restoration of St. John Cantius church. They also watched DVDs by Fr. Michael Gaitley. The genesis for this trip was from the “That Man is You” parishioner group. Members had gone through a 33 day at-home retreat, studying the book “33 Days to Morning Glory” by Fr. Gaitley, to culminate in a consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The pilgrimage offered the consecration opportunity, with a tie-in to the book, and was opened up to other parishioners who wanted to attend.