The Deacon

My family moved to the Midwest from the East Coast when I was still a child, and my parents often took me and my sisters back to New York and New Jersey for family visits and vacations. It was always interesting to me that those special times usually included taking in one of the famous sites in the Big Apple, such as the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. Both my parents grew up in that area and always thought they would someday get to these places in their own backyard. But before they knew it, circumstances caused them to leave the East Coast behind. It would take relocation for them to appreciate what was right there all the time.

This is something to think about as we continue moving through this Jubilee Year of Hope. How many of us have our eyes set on Rome, forgetting what our own diocese offers closer to home? As someone who leads pilgrimages to Italy several times a year, you won’t hear me trying to persuade someone not to visit the home of our beautiful faith. A trip to the Eternal City, especially during a jubilee year, is a worthwhile goal. But perhaps we can make a Jubilee of Hope journey in our own backyard.

In a statement to his flock for the opening of the Jubilee Year, our now-retired archbishop, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, reminded us what’s most important about a Church on pilgrimage: “The idea of a Church on pilgrimage is essential to the spirit of the Jubilee Year. By making our way through the busy world, pilgrim journeys help us to appreciate the beauty of creation, recall the need for silence and recollection, form friendships with fellow travelers and seek Christ, who is the way (Jn 14:6) and the gateway (Jn 10:9) to eternal life, in every encounter and situation.”

Seeking out Jubilee Destinations

With these thoughts in mind, he designated 12 amazing venues in southeastern Michigan as local pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee Year. In addition to our beautiful Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the list of suggested pilgrimage stops includes the place where a beloved hopefully-soon-to-be-saint is buried. The Solanus Casey Center just outside downtown Detroit houses the tomb of the quiet, gentle Capuchin after whom the center is named. Father Casey worked as the porter of St. Bonaventure Monastery and served the poor as they came looking for food and assistance. His cause for canonization opened in 1976, 19 years after his death, and he was beatified in 2019. The center regularly draws people from around the country. But much like the story of my parents, many Michiganders, including the many Catholics in our area, have not taken the time to explore this amazing place just miles away.

So, what is happening in your own community? What churches, shrines and other holy places in your diocese have been designated pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee Year? It’s an important question to ask and something to ponder. After all, as Archbishop Vigneron points out, there is beauty everywhere — in Italy of course, but also a lot closer than we might think. We just have to be willing to slow down long enough to find it.

TERESA TOMEO is the host of “Catholic Connection,” produced by Ave Maria Radio, and the author of “Beyond Sunday: Becoming a 24/7 Catholic” (OSV, $14.95) and “Italy’s Shrines and Wonders: Discovering Sacred Spaces, Fascinating Places, and Destinations Off the Beaten Path” (EWTN Publishing, $24.95). She is married to Deacon Dom Pastore, an ordained deacon in the Archdiocese of Detroit.