The Pilgrimage Posts: Peaceful Pollone

  The situation was stressful and it looked like we might even get stuck. At that point, I asked the group to pray and our priest, Father Gary, began to lead the rosary.Almost miraculously, with each prayer the streets began to widen! Eventually, we arrived at a much better road and were able to continue safely on to Pollone. The streets there are also narrow and impassable by bus, so our driver let us out in front of the entrance gates. Pier Giorgio’s niece Wanda was there to greet us and get everyone situated in their rooms. It was a special gift of the Frassati family to allow us to stay at the villa. What a privilege to be in the house where Pier Giorgio and his family spent so much time. We walked through his beloved flower gardens behind the house and then went for a little walk through Pollone. Our first stop was  the cemetery and the original tomb of Pier Giorgio. Pope John Paul II visited this spot in 1989, prior to the beatification of Pier Giorgio. He prayed in the crypt for 20 minutes, along with Pier Giorgio’s sister Luciana. In 1990, after the beatification, Pier Giorgio's body was moved to the cathedral in Turin. After Luciana's death in 2007, at the age of 105, her coffin was placed in the same spot once occupied by Pier Giorgio. Before leaving the crypt, we took time to pray the De Profundis for Luciana and all of the deceased members of the Frassati family. After a good lunch at the local restaurant, we walked toward the  Cangio Church. It’s official name is the church of Saints Fabian and Sebastian. It was in this church that the proceedings for Pier Giorgio’s baptism were completed. The local parish priest, Don Mario, kindly came to meet us and opened the church for us. We prayed the seventh day of our group novena inside this small, old church that Pier Giorgio often visited. Our  walking tour of Pollone then took us to the plaza for the Parco Burcino – a beautiful park – and then past the Holy Spirit Church and the local parish church known as  La Parrocchia. There is a small plaza there with a beautiful view and we stopped to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
  Back at the villa, Wanda showed us all the newspaper from the nearest town. It had a nice article about our arrival and our pilgrimage itinerary. Quite surreal! Shortly afterward, we had one of the most beautiful Masses of our trip – in the room where Pier Giorgio died. Another of Pier Giorgio’s nieces (Nella) was present and Father gave a nice reflection on  the Beatitudes.
Following Mass, we had our first home-cooked meal in days! It was delicious and a lot of fun spending time with Nella at our table. After dinner, we sat outside under one of the huge trees on the grounds. It was really a special time for our group and, again, I could sense Pier Giorgio’s joy at that moment. Here we were, a group of strangers united only by our common love for him, enjoying a wonderful day of faith and fellowship with members of his own family. I don’t know how much more special a day could be. However, we will try to surpass it on our last day of the trip in the only way possible -- an ambitious climb to the top of Mount Mucrone! Until then…Verso l’alto!