By John Rohlf, The Message assistant editor
Twenty boys who are involved with the Savio brotherhood in the Diocese of Evansville, along with five fathers and two priests, recently traveled to Italy for the “TURIN25” pilgrimage.
For the second time, a group from Savio took a pilgrimage to Italy. Another group from Savio also took a pilgrimage to Italy in 2023. The 11-day pilgrimage encompassed traveling to Rome, Assisi and Turin, according to Father Tyler Tenbarge, Diocesan Director of Vocations.
Father Tenbarge said the boys who participated in the pilgrimage were elected for their activity in Savio the past few years. Only upperclassmen were invited to attend.
“When guys travel to the places where St. Dominic Savio lived, studied, played and prayed, the story of their holy patron comes to life for them,” Father Tenbarge said. “Savio isn’t just a legend. He was a real person. Just like Savio lived and discerned and grew, so our young men —by traveling there — can better see that holiness and following their vocations really is possible.”
Father Luke Hassler, pastor at St. Mary Parish in Ireland and Director of Spiritual Formation at the Father Deydier House, believes the central purpose of a pilgrimage is conversion and being able to encounter God in a new and deeper way. A pilgrimage takes us away from our everyday routine and sends us not only on a physical journey but also on a spiritual journey, he said.
“When you look at the responses, it’s easy to see that each of the boys had an encounter with God on this pilgrimage,” Father Hassler said. “An encounter that changed the way they live out their faith. And that’s what made it so powerful.”
Max Collins, a junior at Mater Dei High School and a member of Resurrection Parish in Evansville, said what stuck with him the most was witnessing the relics of the True Cross in Rome. Witnessing these relics, which were the real pieces of Jesus’ cross, “right in front of my face moved me to tears,” Collins said.
A junior at Reitz Memorial High School and a member of Good Shepherd Parish in Evansville, James Elpers said the experience in the holy places showed him God is always ready for us to come back to him no matter how far away we are.
“In order to hear his voice, we need to be willing to meet him with an open heart,” Elpers said. “When we realize we aren’t in control, that is when God will be there.”
Sam Parmer, parishioner at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Haubstadt and a senior at Gibson Southern High School, realized after spending many hours with the group that being holy and becoming a saint is possible. When he took a step back from the world and surrounded himself with other men focused on the same goal, being in heaven became his main priority, he said.
A senior at Mater Dei High School in Evansville and a member of St. Philip Parish in Posey County, Jack Shumate said the pilgrimage to Italy and the opportunity to follow in the steps of saints was a “truly life changing experience.” The opportunity to see the true unfiltered beauty of the Catholic Church in Rome provided a great source of inspiration, Shumate said.
Shumate said as he grows and lives out his life, he will always look back at how Savio set the foundation for where he is today.
“On this pilgrimage, I realized how this great movement in our diocese was the effect of St. John Bosco listening to what God desired for him and living it out,” Shumate said. “As my time with Savio comes to an end, I am noticing how much I will miss it. I strongly encourage young men to show up as it will truly change you into a great man one day.”
A member of St. Joseph Parish in Jasper and a homeschooled junior, Isaiah Lueken believes God was trying to tell and show him that he would not be where he is in his faith without the Savio brotherhood.
“More than half the teenagers I got confirmed with hardly ever go to church on Sundays anymore,” Lueken said. “And to see these guys do what Savio did is so inspiring to me and countless others. One of these days, I wouldn’t be too surprised if there was a story, a real story about how holy and faithful these young men are and how the young man that died over 200 years ago helped them achieve it.”
A member of St. James Parish in Haubstadt and a junior at Gibson Southern, Carson Agee hopes Father Tenbarge realizes that just as any one of them could be Savio, he could be St. John Bosco. Father Tyler led so many teenagers to pursue God and a small group of boys can turn into a big group of men who want to follow the saints, Agee said.
“It’s been almost two years since Father Tyler invited me to Savio after Source + Summit, and these last two years have been the best years of my life,” Agee said. “Because of him and because of God who led me to this pilgrimage that has changed my life forever.”
Father Tenbarge hopes the young men “allow the grace the Lord meted out to them” to remain in them. He hopes the daily rosaries they prayed, opportunities they had to receive Holy Communion and Confession and the fraternal support of their Savio brothers becomes even more of a regular part of their lives back home.
Father Hassler also hopes the boys continue to draw upon the graces they received from this trip. He hopes they continue to strengthen their fraternity amongst each other.
“I hope that walking the same streets, attending Mass in the same churches and praying in the same spots as the saints did, the boys realized that holiness and sainthood are not out of their reach,” he said.