A group of SFU students will travel to Washington, D.C., on April 2 to visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Saint John Paul II Shrine.

“You don’t have to go a thousand miles to go on a pilgrimage,” said Paul Girardi, SFU’s associate director of Campus Ministry.

This trip is intended to commemorate Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy.

According to the National Shrine website, “pilgrimages became acts of religious devotion that included not only penitential themes, but also those of intercession and gratitude.”

The idea for a pilgrimage was first conceived when Girardi and two students attended the Knights of Columbus College Council National Conference in New Haven, Connecticut, in October 2015.

“The knights run, own and operate the Saint John Paul II Shrine in Washington, D.C.,” said Girardi. “They have been a major contributor to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”

Masses will be held at the basilica–the largest Roman Catholic Church in the United States–as well as confessions throughout the day.

“I’ve always had a particular fondness for John Paul in particular,” said Nick Astle, a senior history and religious studies/philosophy major. “He’s a saint for our time.

“He is a constant reminder that a powerful faith is possible in the 21st century.”

Within the Saint John Paul II Shrine, there are two “first-class” relics of the saint. First-class relics are considered “an actual piece of that person’s body,” said Girardi.

Students will depart from SFU at 5:30 a.m. on April 2 and return to campus around 10:30 p.m.

There are 47 seats on the bus and the trip is free for all students. The cost of the trip is being covered by the Third Order Regular (TOR) Catholic and Franciscan Endowment.