Day one - Saturday 19th October

Pilgrims began to gather at Our Lady's Church, Welwyn Garden City, for the 10 a.m. Mass. Led by Fr Michael, we prayed for the success of our visit to Rome, the Eternal City. After Mass we boarded our coach and traveled to Gatwick Airport. After a short delay we departed by scheduled flight of Alitalia. It was a most comfortable and speedy flight to Rome and on arrival Catherine who was to be our tour guide for the pilgrimage met us immediately. We got aboard the coach, which was to transfer us to our hotel, the Della Conciliazione, only five minutes walk from St. Peter's. As we had been delayed, we were quickly allocated our rooms, and then went for Dinner in the nearby local restaurant. After the meal, a valiant group, led by Fr Michael, did a quick tour to St Peter's Square, and around the immediate surrounds of the hotel. This included checking on Mass times at the church of the Holy Spirit, and a walk across the Tiber and back, before returning to the Hotel for a good night's rest.