By Marty Hebert
Director, Marketing & Development
Magnificat Travel
My wife Ann and I had the distinct pleasure of joining this exciting pilgrimage across the Mediterranean Sea. From the serenity of the monastery at the top of Montserrat to the peaceful pebble beaches of Amalfi, we saw so many magnificent sites along the western Mediterranean coastline.
There are a few places in particular I will always remember, one being the 700-year-old cathedral on Palma de Mallorca, where I saw almost every artistic style since the Middle Ages. It was there I came to understand that a building could be an act of faith for dozens of generations, spread throughout the centuries.
And then across the Mediterranean, where at the simple shrine of St. Philomena near Naples, the nun in charge of the shrine that day had a vibrant devotion to the saint that was infectious. She spoke with such excitement and detail about the saint’s tragedy and triumph, and she clearly desired for us to embrace the story of this humble and beautiful saint.
These experiences and others along the way allowed us to meet face-to-face with places and people that form the fiber of our faith. As different, numerous and varied as these can be, woven together they create the most beautiful tapestry. The constant thread holding all of this together, the one for whom we have built and pursued two millennia, is Jesus Christ himself.