Pilgrims pose for a photo with the hill town of Assisi in the background.
Thirty staff and board members from the corporate ministries of The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi journeyed together February 21 to March 2, 2026, for a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome. Led by congregation Director Sister Joanne Schatzlein, OSF, Father Jim Gannon, OFM, and intern Sister Corinna Thomas, FSPA, the 10-day experience takes pilgrims on a journey of a lifetime to the places that were important in the lives of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.
Pilgrims are steeped in the history of the Franciscan religious sites, attend daily Mass in a different historic chapel or church each day, and participate in group discussions and sharing on the various themes of the lives of Francis and Clare. Many of the members of the ministries describe the pilgrimage as life-changing and transformational.
This year the pilgrims visited Assisi at a historic moment. They were there during the special Franciscan Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis. They were privileged to be among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who travelled to Assisi to view his bones, which were on display in the Basilica of St. Francis. It was the first extended public viewing of the bones in history. They also spent two days in Rome at the end of their time in Italy.
“Each day, each Mass, each sacred site from the life of St. Francis, continued to inspire and amaze me. Stepping through the life of St. Francis and St. Clare, enlightened by the wisdom of Sister Joanne, Father Jim, and Sister Corinna, we learned and were changed,” said Janice Sullivan, donor stewardship specialist for The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi.
The pilgrims represented the ministries of: St. Francis Convent and Franciscan Shore in St. Francis, Wis.; St. Elizabeth School, Baltimore, Md.; Cardinal Cushing Centers, Hanover, Mass., St. Coletta of Wisconsin, Jefferson, Wis., and St. Coletta’s of Illinois. The pilgrimage is offered each year to staff, leadership, and board members of the congregation’s sponsored corporate ministries.