My name is Kathleen Kelly, and I met the Friars at one of their barbeques a few years ago. Since then I’ve had several opportunities to get to know them and learn about their amazing ministry.
A group from my parish, St. Bernadette’s in Scottsdale, did the Camino a couple years ago, and we enjoyed it so much that we wanted to do the Way of St Francis. But, I wasn’t able to find much about it in my research. I thought, I'm going to call Fr. Antony and see what he thinks. He told me that when we wanted to go to Italy happened to be the 800th anniversary of St. Francis' death. He said, "How 
about doing a pilgrimage with me and Fr. Peter Teresa instead?” So that’s how the Italy Pilgrimage came to be. It was the original group I had from St. Bernadette’s, my brother and sister, and others who signed up. It was immediately obvious that this would be a much deeper and more faith-filled experience than what we originally envisioned.
Seeing the cave where St. Michael appeared and the transitus will stick with me for the rest of my life. On the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis, we walked the route that the early Friars carried his body from where he died at Our Lady of the Angels to upper Assisi. It was a very moving experience.
Before the pilgrimage, St. Francis was just another saint. In getting ready for the pilgrimage, I watched podcasts that the friars had about him and read a book about him that they recommended: The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure. I started falling in love with St. Francis. After being immersed in St. Francis on the pilgrimage, my relationship with him has completely changed.
I've been in constant reflection over the pilgrimage and over my life: past, present, and futures. I feel inspired to deepen my faith and strive to mirror the lives of the saints, particularly St. Francis and St. Clare. Some people say St. Francis is closer to Christ than any saint, especially in his humility and detachment. To go to eternal life, we have to be detached from everything on earth, and he is the saint to pray to for that, because he was such an example of being detached.
Here's what other pilgrims said about the pilgrimage:
The pilgrimage made me think daily of St. Francis’ life...and how suffering played such a big part. St. Francis’s greatest joy came from his greatest suffering.
What we gained is a desire for a deeper, more meaningful prayer life, and a simpler life, not cluttered with the distractions from a busy life and possessions.
We gained a special connection with St. Francis. And when Fr Peter Teresa handed out tau cross to everyone, I thought, now I am really part of the Franciscan Friars family.
The Year of St. Francis isn’t over yet, and you can still invite Francis into your life if you haven’t already. We recently recorded a podcast episode about the Year of St. Francis and tips for how you can grow closer to him. Listen to it here!