On Saturday June 29th, pilgrims who had journeyed to Padua, Venice, Ravenna and Assisi in May were invited to a reunion at Holy Ghost Church, Exmouth. We were joined by friends, family and fellow parishioners. The evening began with Mass celebrated by Fr. Philip and appropriately the opening hymn was ‘To be a Pilgrim’.
After Mass there was a shared supper which had an Italian theme. There were delicacies such as parma ham, salami, juicy black olives and tasty pasta dishes – both hot and cold.
After supper we watched a DVD of the pilgrimage which Eric had produced. It reminded us of all the wonderful places we had travelled to and the sights we had seen. We were treated again to the beautiful singing of Sr. Assunta and the other Sisters of the Suore Alcantarine with whom we had stayed in Assisi. We also saw on screen our efforts at learning a dance which the Novices had tried to teach us.
Going on pilgrimage to Italy was a wonderful opportunity to get to know our fellow parishioners better. There was a great camaraderie among the pilgrims while we were away and this reunion gave us another chance to share delicious food and lively conversation with all the friends we had made during the pilgrimage.
Gloria Atkinson