Day 1 - The Catholic Police Guild Pilgrimage to Rome 2025

Paul Connolly
Nov 19, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Nov 22, 2025

Monday 13 October

St Edward the Confessor

Every twenty five years the Church celebrates a Jubilee Year. In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a “Holy Year,” since it is a time in which Gods holiness transforms us. The frequency of Holy Years has changed over time: at first, they were celebrated every 100 years; later, in 1343 Pope Clement VI reduced the gap between Jubilees to every 50 years, and in 1470 Pope Paul II made it every 25 years.

There have also been “extraordinary” Holy Years: for example, in 1933 Pope Pius XI chose to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of the Redemption, and in 2015 Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy as an extraordinary jubilee. The way in which Jubilee Years are marked has also changed through the centuries: originally the Holy Year consisted of a pilgrimage to the Roman Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul, later other signs were added, such as the Holy Door. By participating in the Holy Year, one is granted a plenary indulgence.

The current Jubilee Year commenced on 24 December 2024 and will conclude on the feat of The Epiphany on the 6 January 2026 and is centred on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” As his Holiness Pope Francis so beautifully expressed it, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.”

With that in mind, the Guild organised (and thanks must go the Chris Condliff, one of our members from Merseyside Police for getting the ball rolling and staying with it !) a pilgrimage to Rome for Guild members to celebrate this Holy Year. The last Guild Pilgrimage to Rome was in 2014.

And so on Monday 13 October, from various airports around the country, the Guild pilgrims started arriving in The Eternal City representing many police forces from around the U.K.

Once checked in we made our way to the Venerable English College which was to become a familiar place to us as it is where we attended Mass each day celebrated by our National Chaplain and the pilgrimages' Spiritual Leader Fr Barry Lomax (himself a Fellow of The Catholic Police Guild and the only member of our group to have been on the 2014 pilgrimage) in the stunning setting of the Colleges' Chapel. He was assisted by Deacon Tony Strike, a Chaplain to South Yorkshire Police. The College was founded in 1579 and trains our English seminarians as well as seminarians for dioceses around the world.

In his homily, Fr Barry made mention that St Edward is not only remembered as a Monarch but as a man of profound faith making him a fitting saint to honour as we began our pilgrimage. His example reminds us all that holiness can be lived out in every vocation, even amidst the complexities of leadership and public life.

After Mass the group ate together in a local restaurant, sampled our first (of many) tastes of gelato before a walk back to take in the evening view of the magnificence of St. Peters Basilica.