But Who Do You Say that We Are?

Blog readers of this site have heard about some of the places the 2016 Mundelein Pilgrims have visited. But who are we? Who makes up this year's pilgrimage? Our leader is a Swaziland Peace Corps Alum, Holy Land Veteran, and Rockford priest. Thus far, he has been assisted by two Chicago priests - one an MBA wielding ecclesiologist, and seminary administrator, and the other a Polish-born Doctor of Ministry and seminary formator. Among the seminarians are a mandolin player from the Gary, Indiana Diocese, a former postal carrier from the diocese in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a computer engineer from - where else - Seattle, Washington. Seattle also blesses our group with a Navy Veteran who has developed a taste for Turkish Coffee. A die-hard Detroit Lions fan can be counted on our bus as can two former music majors - one studying for Springfield in Illinois and the other for Dubuque, Iowa. An award-winning model rocket launcher and civil engineer from Stockton, California calls us fellow pilgrims as do farm-raised seminarians from Dubuque, Iowa and Wichita, Kansas.

Our theme song "Thank You Jesus" is often led by a Nigerian born seminarian studying for Tucson, Arizona. A Kenyan among us studying for Joliet, Illinois speaks Italian when pressed, and two seminarians found in our classroom - one studying also for Joliet, another studying for Grand Rapids - spent time evangelizing to college students before entering seminary. A business major from Indiana University who cuts hair for the homeless when back in the states and a former journalism major - both studying for Chicago, Illinois - begin each day with the 2016 pilgrims in prayer. Two Green Bay, Wisconsin seminarians attend our lectures - one a former baseball player and the other a home school graduate. A Chicago seminarian with us this pilgrimage graduated from an agricultural high school - in the city.

A Costa Rican studying for Kansas City, Kansas, a Mexican studying for Chicago, and a Mexican studying for Wichita, Kansas enjoy these weeks with us as does a Canon Regular from St. John Cantius in Chicago, Illinois. Among us, one seminarian studying for Atlanta has a penchant for Walker Percy while another seminarian studying for Tucson has a penchant for Flannery O'Connor. The blog editor studies for Joliet, a former soccer player studies for Gary, and a Steubenville graduate studies for Rockford. San Angelo, Texas sent us a pilgrim. And a seminarian from Joliet rounds out our group except for me - an old English major who is blessed to climb aboard the 2016 Mundelein Pilgrimage Bus with such a fine group of seminarians.