The Jubilee Year: Our Trip to Rome

Hello readers! It has come to my attention that I have not posted on my blog in... 915 days (and counting from the day that I am writing this). It has truly been a tragedy, and my writing skills may have taken a blow from this! In the process of my life, I admit that I have neglected this blog which holds a very special place in my heart.

2025 is the Jubilee Year, as many of my Catholic readers may know. The theme is pilgrims of hope, which you could see labeled on many of the flags, logos, and posters about the Jubilee Year. Many pilgrims are flocking to Rome, including my family during the March Break!

Day 1: Travel Day!

ready to depart to Pearson!

There are no teleportation devices available in the big 2025, so we were off on the first day to travel to Rome. Checking in and going through security was smooth, so we were able to get to our gate very easily and quickly. Unfortunately, our first flight to Montreal was delayed by an hour or so, leaving us anticipating our plane for even longer.

cute andrea and audrey at the airport!

Luckily, we found some things to do. For the younger ones, there was a live magic show (unfortunately I did not get any photos). For Athan, he took up a new hobby of learning French through French podcasts😂! And the rest of us talked, worked, and ate snacks until our plane arrived.

First, we had a 2 hour flight to Montreal and then we would transfer to a 7 (or 8, not sure) flight to ROME!!! Everyone was extremely excited to go on an airplane, (I will admit I was too), especially one with meals and onboard entertainment! With Amelia in a wheelchair, I wasn't sure how smooth it would go but the flight attendants at AirCanada were very professional and I found it to be a great experience!

The flight to Montreal was great. Athan, my dad, and I watched the new Venom movie and everything went splendidly! Unfortunately, once we got on the plane to Rome, I began feeling very restless and my head hurt from looking at a screen. I also wasn't able to sleep at all, since the flight was basically overnight. It changed my perspective of airplanes from GREAT to TERRIBLE, especially at night. However, I understand if you're so high above the ground, it's bound to get uncomfortable. I somehow didn't like the smell of the plane, it just added to my dizziness. All in all, though, the plane ride went quite well.

I had an aisle seat!

She kept kicking me 😢

Day 2: Jumping Right Into It

With very little sleep (~2 hours of good sleep), we arrived in Rome! Now Rome is 6 hours ahead of Toronto, so we were jetlagged AND sleep deprived. A terrible combination, but it was a good thing I didn't really feel it on Day 2!

us girls while adults are figuring things out

The very first destination we went were the Spanish Steps. There were more or less a million people there and honestly I didn't get the significance, but I'm sure there is some history behind it which makes it very important. One thing I didn't understand beforehand was the amount of WALKING we would have to do each day. I knew that transportation by car was limited, but I thought it would be very relaxed, chill vacation. I was wrong! Turns out to get anywhere, it's around 10-20 minutes (maybe more with a wheelchair). So with many destinations in a day, a lot of our time was spent walking.

"cheeky girls"

Spanish Steps with Grandma

Our first meal in Rome was AMAZING!!! I think all I really need to do is show you a photo of it. It has me missing it 😥

yum yum yum! 😋

After lunch, with our stomach's satisfied, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain. I thought the Spanish Steps had a lot of people. Looking at the Trevi Fountain, I had underestimated what "a lot of people" meant! There was a whole lineup and then people were let in by groups. One of the most scary/exciting parts about the Trevi Fountain was that my grandma ALMOST got pickpocketed, but luckily didn't have her wallet in her backpack. 

throwing the coin

Our final destination was home! Where was home, exactly? It was at the Piazza del Popolo, home to Rome's oldest obelisk, a basilica, and a church! One thing I noted about Rome: simply walking down the streets, you will definitely see many churches and you want to go inside all of them because they are simply so beautiful!

We took the train to the Piazza del Popolo and I thought it would be a quick walk home, but alas! It wasn't. 

the Basilica and Church @ the Piazza

oldest obelisk in Rome!!

Once we arrived to the Piazza del Popolo, we couldn't resist exploring no matter how tired our legs were. I was most excited to go into the Basilica and Church! There will be many photos of churches throughout this post (warning⚠) but they are very very beautiful.

Day 3: The First Two Holy Doors

We woke up bright and early the next day to make our way to our very first Holy Door. It was our first time going on the buses and they were much cleaner and brighter than the ones in Mississauga. 

We went to St. Maria Maggiore (or St. Mary Major) and I would say that it was a great beginning because there were confessions available and adoration!

beautiful icon of Our Lady!

the cradle of Baby Jesus :0

the "sistine chapel" turns out there's
 another one in St. Mary!

Entrace of St. Mary Major!

Rome Bus🚌

Next, we went to the Museo e Cripta dei Cappuccini (Capuchin Museum and Crypt)! I thought this was really cool because I am a BIG St. Padre Pio fan, and St. Padre Pio was a capuchin! Capuchins emphasize a return to the orignial Franciscan spirit of poverty and simplicity, as well as contemplative prayer. The museum I thought was okay but the most interesting parts were the crypts where the monks made art (?) with REAL skeletons!!!There were more than 4000 skeletons of monks in this crypt. It's a good thing that none of my siblings or family got freaked out about this. You can see the reliquary of St Padre Pio and crypt in the pictures below:

cloth with St. Pio's blood and hair

😱😱

this was scary and cool at the same time

Afterwards, I think my younger siblings were a bit bored and restless of looking at paintings, skeletons, and reliqueries, so we went outside for a breath of fresh air and took some photos while my dad and grandparents explored a little more! It turns out there was a church right above it called the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini (Holy Mary of the Conception Capuchin Church)! So, of course we went to check it out

our photoshoot with our photographer Anne!

After lunch (tuna + mayo sandwiches will haunt me forever), we went to our second Holy Door in a day! (😢no extra indulgences though) It was St. Paul Outside The Walls! We had a tour scheduled in the afternoon, so we went around looking for a gelato store (something we've all wanted from the moment we stepped foot in Italy)

I think St. Paul Outside the Walls was very mind-blowing because of the symbolism of the paintings, the chapels inside, the many Popes along the ceiling walls... it was very beautiful! There was also a seminarian giving us a tour guide (which we didn't have for St. Maria Maggiore) and that was really helpful in explaining everything. The seminarians are all part of the Pontifical North American College and I gained a lot of knowledge on this tour.

cool photo I took

The tomb and chains of St Paul!!!

After the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, we headed to Janiculum Hill, which is famous for it's stunning views of Rome's city! Needless to say, we spent an hour there snapping photos 📸

isn't it pretty?!

After ALL this walking (I probably had 15,000+ steps at this point), guess what we did? More walking! We headed over to Travestere and before dinner we had one final destination: The Basilica of Our Lady in Travestere which was quite beautiful. The tales say that this basilica may have been the very first place of Christian worship in Rome! That's mindblowing 🤯

dinner in travestere!

This day was one of my favourites in Rome. We headed home VERY tired, I can tell you that.

Day 4: The Vatican... almost?

I remember this day very clearly, and while we didn't visit as many places as the day before, it was amazing nonetheless! Any day in Rome is an amazing day.

Our first destination was THE COLOSSEUM!!! Seeing it was truly unreal. The many martyrs who would have died here is so hard to wrap your head around.

Next, we made our way to the Vatican. Now this is the part I will never forget. It started pouring as soon as we exited the Colosseum, so we rushed to the train station. Thank goodness we got on the train (with 500 people as well) and thank goodness we made it to the walls of the Vatican.

Our plan was to go through Vatican museum and then make our way into St. Peter's, but by that time it was already mid-afternoon so we ate some Italian McDonalds!

Once we finally headed our way to the Vatican Museums, it started POURING again! So we were running uphill with Amelia and Andrea in the wheelchair IN the slippery rain, racing to get to the museums. We were drenched. 

However, having a wheelchair in the museums came with its perks. We were allowed short-cuts and easier access to places like the Sistine Chapel! It was very cool how hospitable the staff were. Unfortunately I have no photos of the Sistine Chapel but let me tell you, it was so beautiful that my neck was hurting after looking at the ceilings.

The tunics of St Peter and John (🤯)

famous painting but I forgot what it's called

spiral staircase

Walking the Vatican museums was extremely tiring and we were still exhausted from yesterday's adventures, so we decided to leave St. Peter's Basilica and return another day! We went home and ate some delicious homemade italian pasta in chicken soup lol

Day 5: The Third Holy Door

The Basilica of St. John Lateran

From the heading of this day and from the photo I just showed, you may *think* that our third Holy Door was St. John Lateran but NOPE! Let me explain.

In the morning, we bussed to St. John Lateran but we did not enter it... this was because our destination was somewhere else, aside from here. We first went to the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem) which was beautiful.

Then, across the street, we headed to the Scala Santa, the Holy Steps which Jesus walked on when he went to see Pontius Pilate. When St. Helen traveled to Jerusalem, she loved these steps so much she had them brought back to Rome! Us pilgrims (even Amelia with her bad leg) would climb up these steps on our knees, meditating on Jesus' suffering as he awaited His death. It was truly beautiful and that experience was one of the most touching in this trip. I don't have any photos because it was a sacred time, but if you are ever in Rome I would highly recommend visiting!

me and Anne on our park break

Finally, after this, it was the moment I had been waiting for ever since I knew we were going to Rome. We were visiting Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican! This was the most exciting part of this trip as it's one of the most significant places a Catholic can go to.

no words!

I think the moment I stepped into St Peter's Square I truly realized how much beauty and unity there is in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. It was simply.. wow!

Our tour guide was an Australian Seminarian (I think his name was Daniel) and he was awesome too. He led us first into the grotto with the Popes and it was a great decision because once we entered into St Peter's Basilica, we were immediately greeted by the large dome above us. The sheer beauty was enough to take your breath away! I will not try to describe this in words, but put many photos below for you to see. 

the first thing we saw as we walked up from the grotto

WOW!! It was after these couple of photos where I handed over my camera to my sisters as I wanted to just absorb everything with my eyes. So the photos that will be shown to you next may not be up to standard as they were before.

I cannot stop talking about St. Peter's Basilica but there is so much tradition and beauty rooted here and I cannot emphasize this enough! Please pay a visit if you can. This was my favorite Holy Door.

la pieta by michaelangelo

The art... the sculptures... the paintings (which are actually mosaics)... it was all so stunning. Sometimes I just think about St. Peter's Basilica and I wish there was something like this in Canada. I can't help but smile and remember the first time it took my breath away.

We went home with happy hearts.

met a friendly face Luce on the way home

Day 6: Our Last Holy Door and... Father Mike?

This day was one of my favorite days because of how unexpected it was! 

Our first destination of the day was the Basilica of St. John Lateran. It was our last Holy Door and I was especially excited for this one because it is the Basilica the cathedral of the Pope and the oldest of the Holy Doors. This makes it basically the mother of all churches.

the skulls of St. Peter and Paul

I can hardly believe this myself!

However, one of the most memorable and best moments of this trip happened when I was praying inside the basilica. Anne was feeling sick so I stayed with her and then Audrey came up to me and says "I JUST SAW FR. MIKE!!!"

And I thought there was no way she was talking about Fr. Mike Schmitz, right? So I asked her "which Fr. Mike?"

And she says, "FR MIKE SCHMITZ!"

So immediately I pull Anne up (who is suddenly restored to health) and grab all our backpacks and follow Audrey to Fr Mike. Weirdly enough, there was no crowd around him like I thought there would be. We seemed to be the only ones who were fans. We quickly called over our entire family who talked so excitedly with him. 

Fr. Mike Schmitz is a very kind man and his Bible In A Year Podcast has helped me very much! Meeting him in Rome was the last thing on my checklist, but it has become one of my greatest sources of joy from our trip.

We left St. John Lateran with happy hearts and headed over to the Roman Forum which we were unable to explore before due to the rain. Unfortunately our tickets expired but we were still able to admire what we could! We could also go to the church inside the Roman Forum, which was great.

my photographer Andrea

Basilica of St. Francesca of Rome

SO BEAUTIFUL!

When taking the bus in Rome, you will often pass a large marble building. Every time we passed by, we wondered what it was! It turned out it was a monument to Italy's first king: Victor Emmanuel II.

We spent a couple hours there climbing the steps and taking in the view at the top!

my sisters are fantastic photographers

Now, readers, I must ask you a question. Have you ever seen that church with the beautiful fresco paintings on the ceiling? The church where people line up to take a selfie with a mirror?

That is the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and that was our next destination! No, we did not line up for 30 minutes to take photos there, but the paintings and art there were stunning. I think this was the church with the most people besides the Holy Doors.

the most Sacred Heart!

exterior of the Church

I could look at this forever...

It was here in this church where I spent proper time in prayer and just immersed myself in the beautiful art. 

Afterwards, we walked over to the Pantheon but tickets were sold out. We admired it from the outside and planned to visit again. Now, we were very hungry so we ate dinner! I chose a carbonara pasta 😋

mmm

the Pantheon!

Day 7: The Pantheon and the Best Tiramisu in Rome

As we had promised, we made our way back to the Pantheon where there were many people. I could see why all the tickets were sold out. The dome was so massive it took my breath away. The architecture that the Romans did is mindblowing! How did the dome not collapse? I have so many questions.

However, after exploring, another hour-long photo taking session started with my family 😂😂😂

I must apologize because I gave my camera to my sisters again! They are really talented.

Amelia grabbing my camera in action

the dome was too large for my camera to capture!

After many photos, we headed to the Church of St. Agnes. 

The very spot she was martyred

Church of St. Agnes

The Church was like many other churches, but you will never know what was below it. We were allowed access into the crypt, where we got to see the very spot St. Agnes was martyred. It was a reminder that suffering is real and so is persecution. St. Agnes was a testimony of that

They said this was the best tiramisu in town. So we had to try it. Was it good? It was delicious! Was it the best though? I don't know, I didn't try the other tiramisu in Rome. But it was a good experience and I really enjoyed the original flavor. 

Finally, our last destination of the day was the Galleria Borghese. When we arrived, the tickets were sold out again 😭😭. It was even worse because we spent 30 minutes on a bus to get there! However, my mom waited in the queue for the chance to get tickets from people who had previously cancelled. So , we walked around the garden, played in the park, and there came success after an hour of waiting! We were able to see so many beautiful statues by Michaelangelo and Bernini. That was the highlight. If I'm going to be honest, looking at paintings and statues for a long time makes me very tired. So the Galleria Borghese was more of a boring site for me, but I still enjoyed seeing the culture.

Neptune and Prosperina (i think)

David

Day 8: The Lord's Day

When we woke up, the first thing we did was attend Mass because it was Sunday! I didn't get any photos of the church, though. Then, we went to the Vatican again because simply, we cannot get enough of it! 

My parents spent an entire HOUR (i'm not kidding) trying to recreate a photo from their honeymoon in front of St. Peter's Basilica and me and my siblings were laughing for hours because my dad was very picky. He wanted the exact angle with the exact pose! It was hilarious

Spent more hours at St. Peters

After that, I wasn't feeling too well so we just walked home and rested on the day of rest!

Day 9: Our Final Day in Rome

This marked our last, sad, but amazing day. I forgot to mention that the Piazza del Popolo (our home) was a very large shopping area. So, me, my mom, and my grandma walked along and went window shopping! There were also a couple churches around so we HAD to spent 30 minutes there too. One thing I learned about churches in Rome: there will always be something cool there. For example, the Basilica of Sts Ambrose and Charles (which was literally down our street) held the HEART of St. Charles Borromeo! Isn't that crazy? I wish I could stroll into a random church in Canada and find the literal body of a saint. 

the Heart of St. Charles Borromeo

We headed, after, to the Basilica of St. Peter in Vincoli, which was outside the walls of Rome. Here we could see the chains which St. Peter was imprisoned in and Michaelangelo's Moses! It was a very simple church (Rome standards) and there were many steps leading up there. 

Moses by Michaelangelo

beautiful

The Chains of St. Peter

We then walked the streets of Rome and headed into an area which we never been before. One thing I love about walking in Rome is that everything is so interconnected. You may never notice it, but maybe a basilica is down the street! One thing I dislike about walking in Rome is the terriblel smell. So many people smoke 😭

thin building that was cool

We headed to Cornaro Chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, where another of Bernini's sculptures was. It was the Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila. I love St. Teresa of Avila, she is one of my favourite saints. I loved this church because it was quiet and peaceful; perfect for prayer. 

(I forgot what this was called)

We ended our final day with dinner and really great gelato. I still remember what flavour I got! Mango and lime 😋😋

Day 10: Goodbye Rome!

Alas, our journey has come to an end. Going to Rome has been one of the greatest highlights of my life. I will never forget this trip! We are so blessed to have been able to visit and explore during the Jubilee Year.  From the first time stepping foot in St. Peter's Basilica to simply spending time with the ones I love, I truly understand what it means when they say "All that is beautiful is a reflection of God's beauty."