"Pilgrims of hope" is the motto of the Holy Year 2025, which was also the theme of the KAAD study and pilgrimage trip that took twenty scholars from sixteen countries to Rome. In the Eternal City, they encountered the history of faith – and each other. Under the guidance of Fr. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Engel OP and Fr. Prof. Dr. Thomas Eggensperger OP, they visited places where faith, history and the present meet and experienced community in a spirit of dialog. Three participants talk about this journey from different perspectives.
Rome as an encounter between the Church and the world
by Nataliya Yashchyk, KAAD scholar
"All roads lead to Rome ... And this time they led twenty KAAD scholars from sixteen countries to the heart of the Catholic world. Here we were able to combine spirituality and science. We prayed together for peace and tranquillity in the world and took part in numerous encounters that highlighted various facets of our world today.
We visited the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, led by Michael F. Cardinal Czerny SJ, to learn how the Church is responding to global challenges. At the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we learned about initiatives for food security and access to quality food. At the German Embassy to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta, we had the opportunity to talk to Msgr. Oliver Lahl, Spiritual Counsellor of the Embassy . Such encounters showed us how different institutions work for justice, peace and sustainable development.
The highlight of our stay was attending the general audience of Pope Leo XIV [...]. This meeting left us with a strong sense of unity and inspired us to work for peace and justice in the world.
Of course, we were also impressed by Rome's cultural heritage: St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, the Trevi Fountain and the evening walks through the narrow streets of the old town left us with unforgettable impressions. This trip offered the opportunity to experience Rome in all its complexity – spiritually, culturally and scientifically – and to feel once again the power of the KAAD community, which unites people from different continents to serve the world. [...]"
Rome as a "pilgrimage of the heart"
by Bereket Mamo Gebremeskel, KAAD scholar
"My pilgrimage to Rome was a journey of mind and soul at the same time. Over the course of a week, I was drawn into an extraordinary combination of faith, history, engineering and tradition that deepened my spiritual life while broadening my understanding of the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages and the cultural and political heritage of modern times. [...]
One of the most moving moments of the trip was my visit to the Basilica of St. Peter. [...] Kneeling and praying at the tomb of St. Peter filled me with deep joy and a spiritual closeness that can hardly be put into words – a moment in which heaven seemed tangible and time seemed to stand still. The grandeur of the basilica reflects the dedication of countless people who came before me – the workers, artists and ordinary people who put their lives at the service of its construction. Their history is indelible, inscribed in the stone and carried on through the centuries. We then climbed to the top of the dome, where a breathtaking view of the Vatican and the eternal city of Rome opened up – a sight without end, living testimony to faith, history and human creativity [...]
[...] To see the newly elected Pope Leo IV from the crowd was overwhelming. His presence radiated both humility and authority – and the moment brought the centuries-old continuity of the Church to life.
The visit to the German Embassy to the Holy See [...] opened up another dimension of Rome to us – its diplomatic and cultural bridging function. The Church's structure, at once central and universal, has enabled it to reach almost every corner of the world, touching countless lives and creating connections that transcend borders. [...] No less impressive was our visit to the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development [...]. The conversation with the representatives of the Dicastery reminded me that the Church is not only the guardian of tradition, but also an active voice in shaping a sustainable future for humanity. [...]
In the Forum [...] the broken pillars and scattered stones still whisper of the voices that shaped the world we live in. It touched me to realize that almost two millennia after the Romans, freedom of public expression is still not a given in many parts of the world – a sobering reminder of how fragile and unfinished the struggle for freedom remains. The Colosseum, grand in scale yet scarred by time, spoke even more poignantly: it was a place of spectacle, but also of suffering, where gladiators fought and early Christians may have been martyred. All this bears witness to human genius – and to human suffering. How many nameless slaves and workers must have died building these wonders? Their lives, like the stones they carried, are part of Rome's history, even if the history books are silent about them. This awareness accompanied me as I marveled at the beauty and symmetry of Roman and medieval architecture.
The spiritual dimension of the pilgrimage was equally enriching. The celebration of Holy Mass in the catacombs of St. Callistus [...] brought me into deep communion with the roots of our faith. These corridors, forgotten for centuries and rediscovered in the 16th century, still bear the silent witness of the martyrs and the courage of a community that risked everything to remain faithful to Christ. To pray there was to feel the unbroken chain of faith across the centuries. [...]
The visit and conversation with Father Thomas G. Brogl OP, Socius of the Master of the Dominican Order in the General House, deepened this experience. His words reminded me that faith is not something rigid, but a living tradition – one that challenges us to combine prayer, study and action in the spirit of those who have gone before us.
Looking back, I feel deep gratitude for this pilgrimage. It was not a mere movement through space, but through layers of history, faith and human resilience. [...] This experience has deepened my faith and given me a greater awareness of being part of a story that is bigger than myself. [...] It was not just a trip to Rome, but a pilgrimage of the heart."
Rome as lived diversity
by Raquel Campomanes, KAAD scholar
"Rome, the Eternal City, [...] was a pilgrimage that changed our perspective, nourished our spirit and united us in our diversity. [...]
A particularly enriching aspect of our pilgrimage was living and sharing together with scholars from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. Despite their different cultural backgrounds and personal paths to God, the diversity became a source of mutual learning and deepened our shared experience. This experience showed us that even if we live our faith in different ways, we can come together as a single community – united in faith and in the mission of KAAD.
In this context, the words of St. Thomas Aquinas resonated particularly strongly with us: "There is nothing more precious in life than the grace of friendship in Christ" – a reminder that true community transcends borders. Likewise, the Orthodox tradition inspired us with the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov: "Acquire inner peace, and thousands around you will find salvation." Thus we understood that our common spirituality unites and strengthens us. Finally, we remembered again the words of Saint Augustine: "You have created us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you" – and realized that the care of the soul is as necessary as the formation of the spirit and that in diversity and mutual encounter lies the true richness of this experience.
[...] We laughed together, cried together and realized that it is in the interplay of all these emotions and experiences that the true meaning of the pilgrimage unfolds.
After these six days, we returned with the certainty that we had experienced something that was far more than a journey: a profound encounter with faith, culture and community."
The full reports of the three scholars are available for download here:
Rome as an encounter between church and world (Nataliya Yashchyk)
Rome as a pilgrimage of the heart (Bereket Mamo Gebremeskel)
Rome as lived diversity (Raquel Campomanes)
