The footsteps of saints and patrons

Women of governance, teachers in the Church, patrons of Europe. This is a different Jubilee itinerary, guided by the wisdom, spirituality, and intelligence of six saints: Bridget, Catherine, Teresa of Ávila, Edith Stein, Hildegard, and Teresa of Lisieux. Not all of them ever made it to Rome, but their presence is evoked by certain churches in the historic center, which, for various reasons, commemorate them.

The Dicastery for Evangelization - Section for Fundamental Issues of Evangelization in the World has proposed an idea for a Jubilee itinerary. The project was inspired by a conference organized in 2022 by the Pontifical Urbaniana University, in collaboration with the Catholic University of Ávila and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, to commemorate the anniversaries of the Women Doctors of the Church and Patronesses of Europe. On March 8, 2025, at the initiative of several scholars from various Catholic universities (including Ávila, the Lateran, the Urbaniana, and the Santa Croce), in collaboration with various university chaplaincies from Rome and Spain, a pilgrimage will take place following the footsteps of the Saints.

The journey will begin with the celebration of a Holy Mass at the Church of Trinità dei Monti, where Saint Teresa of Lisieux will be remembered. Then, participants will walk to Santa Maria delle Vittorie, where Saint Teresa of Ávila will be honored, followed by the Basilica of Sant'Agostino, in memory of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). Next, the group will visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena, where the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available. A lunch break will be held in the Cloister of the Basilica. In the afternoon, the pilgrimage will continue to the Church of Santa Brigida at Piazza Farnese, and finally, it will conclude at the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, where Saint Hildegard will be commemorated, with musical pieces by the saint performed by the Santa Cecilia Music School.

 “The pilgrimage is open to everyone, especially university students. Registration is free, but participants will be asked for a small donation to the Jubilee churches of the saints,” explains Professor Fermina Álvarez, a lecturer at the Redemptor Hominis Pastoral Institute and a researcher at the Lateran University. In 2022, she recalls, she was encouraged by the rector of the Catholic University of Ávila to contact other female professors from Catholic universities in other countries to organize a conference on the Holy Women, followed by two more conferences. These are “initiatives aimed at highlighting the role of holy women in the Church, so that we can draw inspiration and relevance for our times”.

What is the message that comes from the saints chosen for the Jubilee itinerary? “Each one has a particular message, but they all share the testimony of authentic faith and great courage in facing difficulties, especially those particularly hostile to women in their time. They loved the Lord with all their heart, and carried a mission -a life project- forward. They were aware of their own powerlessness in the task and placed all their trust in God, and became His instruments. For our times, their messages and testimonies open up a horizon of hope”.

The Jubilee itinerary “clearly wants to highlight the greatness of the feminine genius; there are women who have led their orders and are also Doctors of the Church”, adds Don Andrea Lonardo, director of the Catechetical Office of Rome, formerly in charge of culture. The pilgrimage on March 8 will be guided by the reading of the words of the saints, with texts drawn from their writings.

“Teresa of Lisieux is the saint of childhood, embodying spiritual sonship, a faith that, like a child, knows how to always surrender into the arms of God the Father, no matter what happens”. The little Teresa prayed in Rome at Trinità dei Monti, where there is the chapel of Mater admirabilis. Teresa of Ávila, a Carmelite, “remembered in the church where Bernini's magnificent ecstasy is located, invites us to enter into the depths, into what she calls the “interior castle”, to meet the Bridegroom”.

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, born Edith Stein, philosopher, and pupil of Husserl, is remembered in the ancient chapel of Borromini, where the inscription “Timor Domini Initium Sapiens” (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) is found. “A Jewish woman who became Christian and was martyred at Auschwitz for the love of her people, she testifies that wisdom reaches its pinnacle in the charity of Christ”.

Then, there are the two saints who asked the Pope to leave the exile of Avignon and return to Rome. Their names are Saint Catherine, whose body is preserved at Santa Maria sopra Minerva; and, Saint Bridget, who lived at Piazza Farnese, where today the sisters of her institute reside. Finally, at the Benedictine monastery in Trastevere, there will be prayers with Saint Hildegard, a figure often misinterpreted today in a “New Age” key, but who “was deeply Catholic: she is the one who, in her drawings and visions, sees man at the center of the universe, embraced by the fire of the Spirit, by Christ, by the Creator”.

by Vittoria Prisciandaro
A Journalist for “Credere” and “Jesus” Magazines, both San Paolo Periodicals.