Pilgrimage to Bogotá with the Community of St. Paul

Pilgrimage to Bogotá with the Community of St. Paul

May 22-30, 2023

 La Resurrección Parish in Bogotá, Colombia

Pilgrimage to Bogotá Reflection

The reflection article below was written by Amy Taylor.

Traveling to another country can be a scary endeavor – especially if you’ve rarely ever done it before. However, I can safely say that the time I spent in Bogotá, Colombia with the Community of St. Paul was a life-changing experience for me. Through the work of the Office for World Mission, I was able to make connections with people thousands of miles from home, and I am so grateful to have been invited to participate in the “Pilgrimage to Bogotá with the Community of St. Paul.”  

Our group of 10 pilgrims was led by Fr. Martí Colom and Fr. Mike Wolfe, who are the assigned pastors of Parroquia La Resurrección. Warm, welcoming, humorous, and supportive, the two priests took time out of their busy schedules to share with us the work of their parish, the ministries they support, and the people they serve. In addition to learning about Colombia’s history, sociological realities, and ecclesial realities, we also had time for group and individual reflections, prayer, Mass, food, and fellowship.

This pilgrimage was one of the few trips that I have taken part in where I was allowed to truly become immersed in the culture. One such memorable time was after Mass on one of the last nights. Our group was invited to tag along with the parish youth group to the backstreets of Bogotá, giving sandwiches and hot tea to the homeless. It was an amazing opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Christ and see these youth – future leaders of Colombia! – learn about the realities that their neighbors face every day.  

The time our group spent with one another and the lessons we learned allowed us to become “knit at the heart.” I feel a great connection with each person and am confident that we all will remain in touch.