Photos: Divine Mercy Pilgrimage

At 6:00 a.m. on April 2, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, a dozen Thomas Aquinas College students embarked on a nearly 30-mile hike over Sulphur Mountain from Santa Paula into neighboring Ventura. Some 12 hours later, they reached their destination — a cross erected by the region’s newest canonized saint, St. Junipero Serra, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and one of the nine California missions he founded, Mission San Buenaventura. There they were joined by the Thomas Aquinas College Choir, and Chaplain Rev. Michael Chaberek, O.P., who had accompanied the pilgrims on their journey, offered the anticipated Mass for the Feast of the Divine Mercy.

“I was inspired to do the pilgrimage because of the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” said Sophomore Thomas Cain, who organized the outing, and whose mother, Mary (O’Hara ’87) is a graduate, and whose father, Dr. Steven Cain, is a member of the teaching faculty. “Back in 2000, during that great jubilee, my parents made a pilgrimage from the College to the Cross. I thought that, for the Year of Mercy, Divine Mercy Sunday would be a great time to do the same.”

During the hike, students prayed and reflected on various readings that Fr. Michael read aloud to them. “It was full of joy, and we all really bonded with each other,” says Senior Rachel Bertotti. “The last three miles were the hardest, but we encouraged one another to keep going. I have never done anything like that, and I am so glad that I did.”

Indeed, it was the very challenge of the hike that made it so rewarding. “A pilgrimage is meant to be difficult,” says Thomas. “As you experience this mortification of the flesh you are reminded that we are people who live in hope of things to come. The journey of life, with all its struggles, is a pilgrimage, and on our walk we are reminded of that larger struggle.”