July 17, 2009
Diocesan pilgrimage planned in 2010 for Rome, Vatican, other sites
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Question: What would happen if the diocesan choir director and the diocesan director of worship planned a diocesan pilgrimage to holy places in Italy?
Answer: The opportunity would be amazing, extraordinary, unforgettable, impossible to describe in just a few words, according to Jeremy Korba and Matt Miller, and it is open to anyone physically able to make the 10-day trip to Venice, Padua, Florence, Assisi, Rome and Vat-ican City.
Why is it so extraordinary? The pilgrims will include diocesan and parish choir members and their spouses, family members, friends, guests and Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger.
Music during the tour will be handled by the Diocesan Choir and the new Diocesan Schola. The Diocesan Choir is open to singers of all ages and levels. The Schola will be an audition-only ensemble starting in the fall.
Here are some of the experiences planned:
- Singing for Pope Benedict XVI and thousands of pilgrims at a General Papal Audience.
- Singing at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Altar of the Chair.
- Singing at St. Mark’s Basil-ica in Venice and at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, and singing at a formal concert for the City of Rome at St. Ignatius.
The trip is open to anyone — regardless of musical ability or religion, who is physically-able to tolerate up to 10 days of travel, often at sites with many steps and other challenges. There is no limit on the number of people who can take part.
The pilgrimage is scheduled Sept. 21 to 30, 2010. Miller and Korba say it is an opportunity to see the pope, to be immersed in Catholic history at several sacred places, and to provide music for public concerts, liturgies and worship.
It is also an opportunity to celebrate the years of Bishop Gettelfinger in the Diocese of Evansville; the pilgrimage is planned in late September 2010, just a month before the bishop’s seventy-fifth birthday when he will turn in his letter of resignation to the pope.
The pilgrimage will include a tour of the Basilica of St. Anth-ony in Padua, a half-day tour of Venice, a visit to Michaelangelo’s David and other sights in Florence, Assisi and the sites of St. Francis, the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Tomb of St. Peter, and a papal audience with a papal blessing.
The final cost of the trip will be available later this year, but is estimated at $3,950 per person. The price includes round-trip air fare, most taxes, en-trance fees, motor-coach travel, eight nights hotel accommodations, European daily breakfasts, and five dinners (including a farewell dinner with en-tertainment in Rome.)
Travelers will need a passport. A $150 non-refundable deposit will be required at registration to ensure a place on the pilgrimage. Early registration will begin September 1, 2009, and will continue through January 31, 2010. After that, regular registration will continue through March 31, 2010.
Anyone interested in joining the Diocesan Choir or the new Diocesan Schola should contact Jeremy Korba for more information.
A website is being prepared to document all the information about the trip. More information is available by contacting Jeremy Korba jkorba@evansville-diocese.org, (812) 425-3369 ext. 162 or Matt Miller mmiller@evansville-diocese.org, (812) 424-5536, ext. 243.