By: Patricia Monique M. Santiaguel
Photo by: Atty. Kate Capulong
In commemoration of the Year of the Jubilee, faculty members of San Beda College Alabang-School of Law (SBCA-SOL) and San Beda University-College of Law (SBU-COL) traveled to Europe for a Benedictine Pilgrimage from October 31, 2025 to November 16, 2025.
This year’s Jubilee’s official motto is “Peregrinantes in Spem,” which translates to “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Correspondingly, the central theme of the Benedictine Pilgrimage is “1,000 Years of Faith, 130 Years of Joy: A Journey of Happiness through Faith.”
The Pilgrimage’s slogan is in reference to the 1,000-year history of the Benedictine Order in Europe, as well as the 130th anniversary of the Benedictine presence in the Philippines, which began with the arrival of Spanish missionaries on September 12, 1895.
SBCA-SOL and SBU-COL faculty visited landmarks in Italy, France, and Spain, where most of the places were historically significant to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia.
The Pilgrimage kicked off with a tour around the City of Rome, particularly visiting places like the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. Next stop was Subiaco, which was considered the birthplace of Benedictine monastic life. Here, Saint Benedict sought a life of solitude and went to live in a cave near Subiaco for three years after leaving his studies in Rome.
Included in the itinerary is the Vatican City, where they explored the various museums, the Sistine Chapel, and the Holy Door. They also went to the Abbey of Montecassino, the very first Benedictine monastery followed by a stop at Gaeta, a coastal city in central Italy. To conclude the visit in Italy, they toured Norcia, the hometown of Saint Benedict.
The group had a one-day trip to Monaco Cathedral, also called the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate or Saint Nicholas Cathedral.
In France, they initially visited the Palais des Papes in Avignon. The palace became the seat of the papacy in the 14th century. They likewise held a faculty recollection in the city.
The last stop in France is the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus in Carcassonne, a minor basilica known for its architectural tradition where Romanesque and Gothic were blended. They subsequently traveled to Spain and paid a visit to the world’s tallest church structure to date, the Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
Finally, they journeyed to Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia, another prominent Benedictine monastery known as the home of the Black Madonna or the image of Our Lady of Montserrat.
Atty. Uella Mancenido-Gayo and Atty. Kate Capulong provided the itinerary for the said tour.