The three-day Our Lady of Christendom Pilgrimage (NSC, by its Italian acronym), an initiative of young people seeking the “sanctification of souls” through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, offering prayers, sacrifices, and acts of penance, recently took place in Italy for the first time.
The purpose of NSC Italy is to offer a way to grow spiritually centered on prayer, sacramental life, and fellowship, fostering a personal relationship with God and a sense of belonging to the Church.
These young people, who attend the Traditional Latin Mass and do not belong to any religious organization or community, also seek to contribute to the restoration of the spirit of Christendom and to rekindle the faith within a contemporary context marked by secularization, by offering opportunities where Christianity can be rediscovered in a living, concrete, and shared manner.
Giacomo Mollo, an Italian and one of the organizers, explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the idea for organizing a pilgrimage in Italy came from his participation in the one held in Spain, whose route goes from Oviedo to the shrine of Our Lady of Covadonga.
“After that long, three-day trek spent with many other traditionalist Catholic youths following in the footsteps of the heroes of the Reconquista [the liberation of Spain from Muslim control], and blessed by the holy Mass, we decided that this beautiful form of evangelization, the pilgrimage of faith, which for millennia has converted Catholics throughout Europe, should also be held in Italy, and particularly in Rome,” he explained.
Mollo, together with his friend Nicolò Toppi, launched the initiative with the support of a large group of young volunteers and priests.
The pilgrimage, held April 25–27, brought together 160 people, including laypeople, priests, and seminarians hailing from countries such as France, Spain, Argentina, Ireland, England, Hungary, Mexico, the United States, and Portugal.
“The experience was truly beautiful,” Mollo related. “Beyond the smooth execution, we traversed magnificent places, remarkable both for their scenic beauty and for their spiritual significance for Catholics.”
The pilgrims arrive in Subiaco. | Credit: Photo courtesy of NSC Italia
A route laden with meaning
The pilgrimage set out from the papal basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome and proceeded to St. John Lateran, passing in front of the “Quo Vadis” church and traversing the Old Appian Way until reaching Castel Gandolfo square, surrounding the papal residence.
The pilgrims visited the shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, to whom Pope Leo XIV has a special devotion, and attended Mass at the Colonna Castle, the birthplace of Pope Martin V.
Their destination was Subiaco, where Mass was offered at St. Scholastica Church, concluding with a visit to the cave where St. Benedict, the primary patron saint of Europe, developed his rule and laid the foundations of Western monasticism.
“All of this combined with the penitential meaning of the journey, the universality of the Church demonstrated by the participation of pilgrims from many parts of the world, and the communion of faith experienced while participating in the holy Mass according to the ‘Usus Antiquior’ [older or ancient usage] of the Roman rite, filled us all with an unimaginable sense of gratitude, beauty, and faith,” Mollo highlighted.
Currently, organizers are working on next yearʼs pilgrimage, as they expect a larger number of pilgrims.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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