ACN’s Witnesses of Hope Pilgrimage to Rome
ACN’s Witnesses of Hope Pilgrimage to Rome
(7-11 May 2025)
A truly blessed and uplifting time (by Caroline Hull, ACN UK National Director)
My time in Rome very special. It was exciting and moving and spiritually uplifting. I’m still processing it all, but to have attended Mass with the Cardinals just before the Conclave began and to have joined thousands rushing to St Peter’s Square to welcome the new pope were truly inspiring. I’m so glad to have been able to share this special time with the other UK pilgrims! The whole time I was praying for our project partners, our benefactors and our team.
Witnessing the election of Pope Leo XIV (by Amy Balog, ACN UK Marketing Executive)
Moments after we received the news about the white smoke, I was on the crowded Roman metro with ACN (International) Executive Director Regina Lynch, ACN (UK) Trustee Paul Marsden and other ACN staff from around the world. For a while, I was the only one able to keep up with Regina – but she eventually outran me as well.
I was standing at a street corner a few yards from St Peter’s Square when the words “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: habemus papam!” (“I announce to you a great joy: we have a pope!”) rang out, captured on camera only for the eighth time in history. The crowd was ecstatic at the moment of Cardinal Dominique Mamberti’s proclamation – especially after he revealed the new pontiff’s name. Then, when Pope Leo XIV appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, love and joy were palpable in the air in a way I’d never experienced before. Even the energy at a rock concert pales in comparison. We all knew we were witnessing history. Believers and non-believers united in cheers on the streets of Rome, with many more million pairs of eyes glued to phone and TV screens worldwide.
Reflections on the rest of the pilgrimage (by Teresa Kehoe, ACN UK Community Outreach Manager – Midlands)
The excitement of the day before with the race from St John Lateran to Vatican Square, the announcement of our new Pope, being there for his speech and first blessing had barely receded when we returned bright and early to the Square and lined up with the rest of ACN International at the top of Via Conciliazione for our pilgrim walk toward St Peter’s Basilica. Praying the Rosary as we walked, breathing in the atmosphere of yet another momentous day and event, listening to the Poles singing loudly their hymns of praise to Our Blessed Mother, it was a truly spiritual experience like no other. As we walked through the columns of the Vatican, spreading out like the arms of a mother protecting her children, we processed through the Holy Door and into St Peter’s. After prayers, time to walk past Michelangelo’s Pieta, the tomb of St John Paul II, the Blessed Sacrament chapel, confessionals, we made out way to behind the altar of St Peter for Holy Mass. Battling through what seemed like a deluge of pilgrims, we visited the tomb of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and stopped at the spot where Charlemagne knelt down and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. What a joy.
Maisy Milk, our ACN Primary School ACN Apostles Mascot also had a whale of a time in Rome!
ACN International organised the Jubilee of Hope pilgrimage to Rome. Staff and all attendees covered their own costs and were extremely grateful for the opportunity to be in Rome both for the pilgrimage and such an eventful and momentous occasion of the white smoke! It was with great joy they could join the throngs welcoming Pope Leo XIV, no stranger to ACN!
Please note, more photos will be added shortly!
