by Katie Vasquez
It’s a pilgrimage Sue Thompson, a parishioner at Church of Saint Patrick, has been waiting on for a year.
“It was just so amazing,” Thompson said. “Every day was something that you read about in scripture.”
She traveled for 9 days in the Holy Land, seeing the path of Jesus’ life from the very beginning.
“It was so beautiful, we went down to the spot where Mary lived, where the angel Gabriel spoke to her,” Thompson said.
Halfway through Sue’s trip, her journey to deepen her faith took a turn for the worse.
She along with more than 60 other parishioners from Church of Saint Patrick in Sarasota, Florida were preparing for Mass in Bethlehem, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.
“I think everybody kind of realized something very different was happening,” Thompson said.
“It was obvious the sounds of bombing outside and the missiles,” Fabrizio Lomanto, a guide for Peter’s Way Tours, said.
It was at that point that Lomanto decided to cut the pilgrims’ trip short.
“We have no choice it’s choice A or choice A, leave the country and they left,” Lomanto said.
Peter’s Way Tours, which organized the pilgrimage, coordinated the safe evacuation of the pilgrims out of Israel.
“We knew that the Tel Aviv airport was closed, no flight coming in and out,” Peter Bahou, President of Peter’s Way Tours said. “So we knew we have to do something in order to get them through Jordan.”
As a precaution, Peter’s Way has cancelled all trips to the Holy Land, 14 in total, through the end of the year and could potentially cancel more.
“We need to give it another two or three weeks or even one month to make a decision,” Bahou said. “But yes, there is a concern right now to travel anywhere, anywhere right now.”
Peter’s Way says they have contacted all group leaders about their cancelled tours. Anyone with questions about their pilgrimage to the Holy Land should call their parish.