Jubilee Year 2000

JUBILEE YEAR 2000

I am Robert L. Bongo, born in Stamford, CT; in 1940. Growing up in Stamford we were parishioners of Sacred Heart Church. We rarely missed a mass and were very good Catholics, following our faith; following in the footsteps of our parents and grandparents
Through the years I started missing mass and questioning whether there was really a God. In 1999, I was mostly missing mass and getting lazy about taking the time to pray.
In 2000, our friend Marie Crowell had gone to Italy on a tour with the church and told me about her experience. She made a pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee which occurs every 25 years.
The Jubilee began on Christmas Eve 1999 when Pope John Paul 2nd opened the Hold Door in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Italy. The door would remain open until January 7, 2001 for pilgrims to have this wonderful experience. Many people walked or crawled on their hand s and knees through the holy door, kissing it as they prayed in their own way.
Pilgrims would obtain a special indulgence connected to forgiveness of their sins. A pilgrimage evokes the believer’s personal journey in the footsteps of the redeemer: it is an exercise of repentance for human weakness, of constant vigilance over one’s own frailty, of interior preparation for a change of heart. To obtain this indulgence in Rome, pilgrims are required to visit three churches and the Vatican, spend time in mediation, and recite the Our Father, Apostles’ Creed and the Hail Mary.
It was a very hot and humid day in September of 2000 when I decided to do the pilgrimage in Rome. I started walking to S. Pietro in Vicoli, reached the church and prayed for my family. Then I went onto S. Giovanni in Laterano. At this point I needed to stop for a cold soda and a paninni sandwich. The sweat was pouring off me but something made me continue on to find S. Maria Maggiore. I don’t know how many miles I walked across Rome, but it was a long time before I came up to Maggiore. It looked as if the church was closed and I was very disappointed and almost gave up, but was driven to complete this journey. I spoke to a Sister in Italian and she told me that this was the back of the church for I was to go around the front and enter church number three. I prayed and then had to complete the pilgrimage by going to S. Peter’s for Mass.





At S. Peter’s I completed my prayers and decided to go to confession for the first time in 10 years. As I stood in line for the confessional, I looked up at the stain glass window of the church and at that time a light beam struck the glass and directed itself onto me. I shouted within myself, on my God my Mother and Father were here with me…I could sense them. I said, there really is a God…Jesus is here to support me as well. At this point, I started to shake and cry uncontrollably as I knew this experience was real.

As you know, men normally don’t cry. We keep it within and express our feelings when we are alone. Not this time, people were looking at me and wondering what was happening. I almost fell to my knees.
Then I went to confession and mentioned my experience to the priest. I told him I was now a born again catholic and he blessed me several times.
I hope by reading this experience, one could also believe that Jesus and God are real. A feeling comes over you that God is with you and your soul is being cleansed. I felt so pure and holy. I know we are God’s children. I sensed what it might be like in heaven.
I sincerely wish that all of you experience what I have in your lifetime.
God Bless my family and friends,
Robert L. Bongo