By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
For more than a dozen Fort Hays State University students, spring break wasn't about rest. It was about faith as they traveled to Rome to visit sacred sites and deepen their spiritual lives.
Lizzie Brisnehan is a second-year campus missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), a nonprofit that shares the gospel with young adults nationwide through various initiatives.
"Pilgrimage is a very ancient tradition in the Catholic Church and also in the Jewish tradition," she said. "They would go to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to visit their holy site to worship. It's something people in the Bible had been doing every year... to visit certain holy sites or to offer sacrifice."
Brisnehan led this year’s spring break pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, where 16 Catholic Tigers, accompanied by Fr. Andy Hammeke, visited basilicas and relics and attended a papal audience, where Pope Leo XIV greeted pilgrims and delivered teachings and prayers.
FHSU senior Kaden Schwindt was about 15 to 20 feet away with his group when Leo passed by in the popemobile.
"That was pretty awesome," Schwindt said. "What incredible timing. He is the first American pope and for us to be able to go there and cross paths at the same time. It's pretty amazing."
Schwindt said there was a strong American presence at the event. FHSU junior Lauren Welchel, who also joined the pilgrimage, said Leo’s arrival was full of joy and happiness.
"You couldn't help but smile by just being in his presence," she said.
Brisnehan said a highlight of seeing Leo was receiving a general papal blessing, in which the pope offers a collective blessing to those present. This also extends to the religious items attendees are holding.
Schwindt said he brought home two rosaries and two small pendants that Leo blessed. One of those rosaries was for himself and another as a gift for someone who was recently confirmed at an Easter Vigil.
"That was pretty cool to be able to welcome him into the church and say, 'Here's a rosary blessed straight from Pope Leo,'" he said.
Welchel said she will graduate in May and plans to marry in September. In addition to rosaries blessed by Leo for her family, she said he also blessed an item she plans to carry into the next chapter of her life.
"I got a cross from one of the gift shops and brought it to be blessed so that we will have it present on the altar when we get married, and something to keep in our home," she said.
Brisnehan said the pilgrimage was structured so students did not know each day’s plans until the day of. The group visited St. Peter’s Basilica, the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and the catacombs.
In addition to those four major papal basilicas in Rome, Welchel said the group also saw numerous other churches.
"I think one day we saw seven in total. There was a lot of walking all over Rome," she said. "The churches and all of these amazing and beautiful sites, each one was better than the last."
Schwindt said the group prayed a Holy Hour at the cathedrals or basilicas they visited and attended Mass each day at one of those locations.
Along with touring the Vatican Museums, which house artwork and sculptures collected by the Catholic Church over centuries, students saw relics tied to Jesus’ life, including the manger he is believed to have been born in, the Last Supper table, the pillar of scourging where he was whipped and fragments of the Holy Cross he was crucified on.
"There really weren't any two days that were the same. We did something completely different each day," Schwindt said. "One of the last days of the trip was following the steps of Jesus."
Brisnehan said more students applied than could be accepted, with priority given to upperclassmen students so they would not miss what Schwindt also called a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Welchel encouraged students who were unable to attend this year to apply again, describing it as a unique opportunity to grow in their faith alongside like-minded peers.
Both Welchel and Schwindt said the pilgrimage to Rome was worth giving up a traditional spring break, describing it as a meaningful sacrifice.
"I still can't comprehend that I was actually in Rome," Welchel said. "One of my big intentions coming back is starting to go to daily mass."
"I have a lot greater appreciation for the faith and its history," Schwindt said. "It was so incredible to see how much time has passed, how everything else in the world changes, but the one thing that stayed constant is the faith."
