Pilgrimage Set to Honor Priests, Increase Vocations
Story by Joe Pisani
On a June evening last year, Joanne and Ed Arrandale of St. Margaret Church in Madison joined thousands of pilgrims as they walked up a hill in Medjugorje for an apparition of the Blessed Mother on the 43rd anniversary of her first appearance to six young people in 1981.
“I had this desire to be in the same place as the Blessed Mother was appearing,” Joanne recalls. “I wanted to be where she was.”
When Our Lady appeared, the visionaries fell to their knees, people stopped praying the rosary and silence descended on the hillside in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“It was incredible,” she says. “To be on this hill with thousands of people, and there was dead silence — and you knew you were in the presence of the Blessed Mother.”
Her anniversary message was: “Dear children, I rejoice with you and thank God for permitting me to be with you, to lead you and love you. Little children, peace is in danger and the family is under attack. I am calling you, little children, to return to prayer in the family. Put sacred Scripture in a visible place and read it every day. Love God, above all, that it may be good for you on Earth. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Our Lady of Medjugorje urges people to receive the Eucharist, pray the rosary, read the Bible, fast, and go to monthly confession.
“In Medjugorje, you experience one of the most spiritual and peaceful places, where heaven touches Earth,” Joanne says. “The idea came to me to bring others back to share it with them. The Blessed Mother wants us to spread what’s happening there.”
Inspired by her experience, the Arrandales are organizing a pilgrimage, where others can deepen their faith and pray for priests, seminarians and new vocations. A member of the Archdiocesan Vocations Ministry, she approached Father Anthony Federico, director of Vocations & Seminarians, with her idea and for his participation.
“I was really impressed when I heard Joanne was organizing a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, specifically to pray for priests of the Archdiocese of Hartford and new vocations to the priesthood,” Father Federico says. “It means a lot to me to know there are folks who are deeply committed to this particular need of the Church, which of course has become so important to me in my current assignment.”
The pilgrimage is scheduled for April 11 to 18, 2026. Among the planned activities, the group will celebrate daily Mass at St. James Church, climb Apparition Hill, and walk the Stations of the Cross to the summit of Cross Mountain, where a 28-foot cross commemorates Christ’s crucifixion.
“I’m excited. I have never been there before but have heard such incredible testimonials from those who have, and I am eager to see it for myself,” Father Federico says. “I am open to encountering and receiving what Our Lady has planned for me there and bringing the fruits of that back home to Hartford.”
Joanne says the pilgrimage is dedicated to priests and seminarians because “they certainly deserve our prayers.”
“I also want to put a smile on the faces of the Blessed Mother and Jesus and have them say, ‘Yes, we’ll take care of your priests,’” she adds.
To learn more about the pilgrimage and apparitions in Medjugorje, individuals are invited to participate in a Zoom meeting on Nov. 10, 7 p.m. To receive a meeting link and for more information, call 203.318.8590 or email jarrandale@comcast.net. Registration for the trip should be done by Dec. 1.