Two weeks ago, on March 12, a small group of dedicated Jr. Bills walked roughly five miles on sidewalks throughout the city in an attempt to strengthen their faith lives this Lent. The group, all members of Campus Ministry’s Lenten Initiatives program, was taking part in a pilgrimage from SLUH to the Shrine of St. Joseph downtown, where, with sore feet, participants took the chance to pray and grow as a community.  

When the idea for a pilgrimage was first presented several weeks ago, Campus Minister Joseph Hill SJ, was immediately excited at the prospect.

“A pilgrimage is an ancient tradition and it's an act of faith and devotion that helps promote faith and devotion,” said Hill. “ I think it's just a really fun thing to do.”

Plus, he had the perfect spot in mind: a shrine rich in history that held special significance this year, which Pope Francis has proclaimed the year of St. Joseph. The Shrine of St. Joseph quickly became the ideal destination for the penitents. Having both architectural beauty and spiritual significance, it was a site easy to get excited about.

“I was really excited for the pilgrimage because I personally have a huge devotion to St. Joseph,” said junior Joey Inserra. “The chance to travel to his shrine with some of my brothers in faith was an awesome opportunity.”

The only remaining question? How to get there, and for that, the group almost unanimously decided on walking, making it a full-on pilgrimage. The pilgrims left SLUH at 8:00 a.m. and arrived at the shrine a few minutes after 11:00. Along the way, they prayed the rosary and talked with each other, enjoying the community around them. 

“I thought the walk went great,” said Hill. “We had beautiful weather and it was just the right distance, long enough so that it didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, we’re already there’ but it wasn’t too long to where people started to get tired.”

“The group we had was really special I think,” reflected junior Matt Windler. “ I feel like everybody got a chance to talk to everyone and the walk wasn’t actually that bad—although we did have to jaywalk once or twice.” 

At the shrine, the penitents toured the art and statues, learned about the history of the church—which unsurprisingly tied in closely with the Jesuits of St. Louis—and celebrated a short Mass, where Hill reflected in his homily about the important virtues of St. Joseph: his unquestioning faith in God and the responsibility he took for the other members of the Holy Family. 

The church itself is a living marvel. Located off of North Tucker Blvd in Columbus Square, it has survived fires, decades of disrepair, and even, as the group learned on the tour, an infestation of birds in the attic. Even after all these trials, the shrine still remains in its original location from 1843 and was the site of two notable miracles, including a healing used in the canonization process for St. Peter Claver. 

“The pilgrimage allowed us to get out of our comfort zone and explore the hidden gems of our city and have an opportunity for prayer,” said Windler. “The church really related to our Jesuit tradition, but most of us didn't even know it existed.”

“The church was spectacular and it was really cool to learn about the history of the renovations they made. It was really elegant even though it was old and many of the statues were impressive,” said junior Jared Thornberry.

Despite the long walk, the journey was very fruitful for the pilgrims and allowed for a moment of spiritual community after a year of significant isolation due to the pandemic.

“I thought it went really well,” said Windler. “The group we had was really dedicated to the journey and it was great to create this brotherhood of prayer. Plus, the Mass we had with just our small group was really intimate and special.”

“It was a big success. Everyone was having a great time and enjoying themselves, but still being respectful when we needed to be,” said Thornberry.

Hill even went so far as to suggest a repeat event next year.

“I think this would be a great thing to do in the future, it could even become an annual thing. Getting kids to practice their faith in this physical way is really great and important.”