My Christmas Pilgrimage to Poland

March 2026

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope your winter and Lent have been happy and healthy and holy!

Life has been very busy at Wyoming Catholic College - I have been writing papers, singing in choir, working in the kitchen, spending time with friends, and working, in Lenten fashion, on being a holier person. Over the past almost two years I have been given so, so many opportunities to grow closer to Our Lord, learning to know, love, and serve Him, and I have been particularly blessed with a very good class with which to practice this growth. We have been through thick and thin and have become very close.

Our newest adventure as a class is a pilgrimage to Poland this coming Christmas, travelling to the holy sites of Kraków, Auschwitz, and especially to Częstochowa, as well as other places!

Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, where we hope to attend Christmas Mass - here is Our Lady's wonderful story:

https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-czestochowa.html

During the pilgrimage we will celebrate Christmas and the Christian life through the richness of the Polish culture, prayer, music, and community. We will be meditating on JPII's Theology of the Body and spending time in prayer and reflection on the Holy Family, as well as practicing our basic Polish skills and singing Christmas carols on our many sub-expeditions to the holy places.

Pilgrimages provide a time to step away from normal life and all that it entails, with its distractions from God, so that we may enter fully into our lives’ pilgrimages to Him through setting out to these holy sites. Further, through walking in the footsteps of our predecessors in faith, we seek to be inspired by their devotion.

This pilgrimage will be an opportunity to grow in friendship with my classmates, appreciation for the Catholic heritage, and love for the Christ Child. We are in the process of finding a chaplain to accompany us (do you have a suggestion? Please email me here!).

In order that as many of my classmates as possible can join this adventure, we are fundraising the entire cost of the pilgrimage. 27 of the 31 members of my class and two other friends have committed to going and we are on the search for a chaplain. The total cost will be between 60–90k, approximately $3,000 per pilgrim. That amount will cover flights, lodging, food, and other travel expenditures. This means I will need about 30–60 people who will assist me with a gift of $50 to $100. However, any contribution you can make is greatly appreciated and adds up quickly.

To give, please go to this link: https://gofund.me/5041f06a4

Just a note, the 2K goal on the gofund.me page is just an (automatically set, I think) initial goal.

Thank you for your consideration!

In Christ,

Miriam

P.S. Please pray for the success of the fundraiser and for blessings on the pilgrimage. We will pray for the intentions of all who help make this journey possible!

Cathedral carved out of the salt mines in Wieliczka