Friends, you might recognize my name from the books Fr. Ken Brighenti and I have written (e.g., Catholicism for Dummies), or have seen our TV shows (Web of Faith & Catholic Blitz) on EWTN, or listened to my weekly radio show (Open Line Monday).
Help sponsor a seminarian to attend a pilgrimage to Rome & Assisi during our spring break (Feb. 27 - Mar. 7, 2026). Your generous gift will provide a 50% scholarship, which they truly need. Total cost for each man is $3,050 (air, land, meals, etc.), but with your help, each seminarian will only have to pay $1,500/person, if not less. Most of them are of limited means and would not be able to afford the full price. Please assist these men to visit Rome for this wonderful occasion.
We will be visiting the shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, and this year Pope Leo XIV has allowed his relics to be displayed for public veneration for the very first time ever. This historic event will take place for one month and will coincide with the 800th anniversary of the saint's death in 1226. The remains will be moved from their sealed tomb in the crypt to the foot of the papal altar in the lower church for public veneration.
The seminarians will also visit the shrine and relics of St. Carlo Acutis, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica, St. John Lateran Basilica, St. Mary Major Basilica, Sistine Chapel, the catacombs, Castel Gandolfo, and Ancient Rome.
I am one of the priests who teach at the seminary and am the chaplain for this pilgrimage. It is a great experience and blessing for our men to visit in person these awesome treasures of our Catholic patrimony. They study and pray during the school year, and these breaks allow them to see the universality and heritage of our Church. If you can donate $5,000 or $3,000 or $1,500 (enough for one, two, or more seminarians), we will remember you at our Masses and in our prayers during the entire pilgrimage. God bless you and Mary keep you.
Father John Trigilio, Jr.
