Our family pilgrimage to Rome: Beginning

One day last September, our son randomly asked, "Can we go to Rome?" This request genuinely surprised us—he usually dislikes travel except to the prime destination of our local Chinese buffet. Had something finally piqued his interest in history class? Had he seen Gladiator at some sleepover? Was he just a typical guy, inherently consumed with the Roman empire?

We reflexively said, "No, babe, that's just won't work," but later that night, we started musing about it. All four of us did have a common Easter break. Being in Rome for Easter during the Jubilee year would be pretty epic. In theory, the kids were old enough to handle all the walking. And Rome was Colin's number one pick for our next big trip. I checked the flights and found the fares surprisingly low. Maybe...? Maybe we actually could go to Rome?

Last week, "maybe" became an unforgettable family pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi that became infinitely more profound when we found ourselves at Pope Francis' final appearance and then gathered with tens of thousands of other pilgrims at the papal wake. I'll be sharing about that experience in my weekly newsletter, if you'd like to subscribe here. You can also come back this week and next for packing lists, pilgrimage planning tips, family travel insights, and other Rome guidance.

Today, follow along as we spend a week together in Rome!

We departed on Good Friday and arrived in Rome Saturday morning. Our kids have visited Mexico many times, but this trip marked their first overseas flight and they loved the "amenities": free headphones! our own blankets and pillows! hot meals! Colin and I loved the free wine.

As per our usual travel preference, we rented an apartment in a neighborhood rather than book hotel rooms. This arrangement allows us to save money by preparing our own meals in the kitchen (which also allows the fun of local grocery shopping), gives everyone enough privacy, and most importantly affords a tiny immersion into local life—one of the primary gifts of travel. And because this is Rome and everything glows with the patina of thousands of years, the apartment felt like a historic dream.

During the quick apartment tour, our host's limited English and our zero-sum Italian somehow gave way to realizing we could converse in our mutual Spanish—a moment that represented the persistence of human connection that I love dearly about travel. We quickly freshened up and set off to explore the area.

Day 1 included visits to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and fairytale alleys of the city. The kids loved the iconic Vespas lining cobblestone streets, and they quickly caught on to saying "grazie" and "prego." I also introduced our daughter to the bliss of European pharmacies (like every other tween girl, she's obsessed with skincare). We had the first of approximately five thousand slices of pizza and cones of gelato.

But the real treasures of Day 1 were held in churches and altars. Before we embarked upon our pilgrimage, we had solicited intentions from family and friends that we brought to the tombs of St Catherine of Siena, St Agnes, St Aloysius Gonzaga, St Robert Bellarmine, and St John Berchmans. The soaring, elaborate beauty of these holy places was a feast for the senses. And yes, we heavily employed tip 7 and St Agnes' skull relic proved the truth of tip 5.

St Agnes' relics especially moved me. She is the very first saint whose image and story burned into my heart, striking me with awe and terror and a desire for her heroic heart. Seeing her petite skull dramatically illustrated how very young Agnes was when she joyfully chose martyrdom.

Our first day in Rome concluded with a wonderful dinner—I was proud of the kids for embracing a new place by trying unfamiliar dishes and figuring out how to twirl pasta with a spoon—and, of course, more gelato.

When we went to bed that Easter eve, we didn't yet know that Easter Sunday would hold even more historic Catholic moments than we had planned. We didn't yet know that we'd be seeing Pope Francis at his final appearance, nor that later in the week we'd be attending his wake with thousands of other pilgrims. It was a glorious, blue-sky first day in Rome, filled with stirring moments and graces, beauty and bones—a first contact with the glorious visible that connects us with the divine invisible.

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