Paul’s dream his whole life was to visit Jerusalem. He grew up a good Catholic boy in Italy, born in the countryside about 130 years ago to upper middle class parents who had some landholdings. One of his brothers became an attorney, another became a politician. Paul wasn’t sure what he wanted to be as he grew up, so he received a general education from the local school. He finally found a home in a publishing wing of the Catholic Church. He also taught in Catholic schools and eventually became a secretary to a Cardinal.
But he was devoted to the Church and to God. The Holy Land, especially the city of Jerusalem, always called to him. For most of his life, work and his responsibilities kept getting in his way of making the pilgrimage to the place. Finally, at age 67, Paul decided that it was now or never. He boarded a jet in Rome and flew to Amman, Jordan. Now, in 1964, when Paul made his pilgrimage, that was the normal tourist route into Israel because Jordan controlled those areas where Paul wished to visit. In other words, the borders of all those countries have changed dramatically since then. At any rate, Paul made his way with a large group of other pilgrims across the Jordan River and entered Jerusalem for the first time, fulfilling his life-long dream.
And it was magical for him. He knew enough history to realize that what he was seeing wasn’t the way it was almost 2000 years earlier, but that didn’t matter to him. It was his connection with the earth in that spot, the spiritual connection he felt with the place rather than the buildings or stones or streets. He knew in his heart that he was seeing the same space if not the same city that his beloved Jesus had once seen, seeing the sky from the same spot on the globe as Jesus had done, and breathing the air where Jesus had once breathed.
And that was more than enough for him.
To show his thanks to the land and the people for allowing him to realize his greatest desire, Paul brought gifts that he left at the different shrines. He lit candles in the churches. He prayed in the chapels. And, even though he was older, he barely slept while he was there because of his excitement. He didn’t want to waste time sleeping, he told friends later.
And, while he had accumulated wealth during his life and work, Paul chose to wear simple clothing during the pilgrimage. He wanted to honor the simple man he admired so much. And, because he believed that Jesus spoke about peace and love, he made sure to leave olive branches at every stop he and his other pilgrims made.
You may wonder why Paul’s pilgrimage merits your attention here and now. Surely, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and billions of other religious people make pilgrimages all the time. And you’d be right. Except Paul’s pilgrimage was the first of its kind.
You see, Paul’s pilgrimage in 1964–Pope Paul VI–marked the first time a Catholic Pope had ever visited Jerusalem.
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