On May 2, nine seminarians from Sacred Heart Major Seminary embarked on a monthlong pilgrimage and spiritual journey. Known as the Desert Formation Experience, the annual trip is planned for men who have recently completed their first year of graduate studies at the seminary.
This year’s pilgrimage includes seminarians discerning with the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), the Archdiocese of Detroit, and the dioceses of Gaylord, Saginaw and Lansing.
The late Msgr. Daniel Trapp, spiritual director and associate professor at Sacred Heart, led nearly 30 Desert Formation Experience pilgrimages before he passed away in 2024. Following his last trip in 2023, he shared with Mosaic the goals of the pilgrimage: a deeper prayer life, growth in virtue, and continued discernment.
“Over the years, (a) desire of the archbishop and the seminary formation team was that the men have greater clarity, rooted in their prayer, about their vocations,” Msgr. Trapp said at the time.
Since 2024, Sacred Heart professors Fr. Joseph Kirkconnell and Fr. Pieter vanRooyen have guided the pilgrimage. Fr. VanRooyen is the director of graduate seminarians; Fr. Kirkconnell serves as the spiritual director for the men.
While most previous pilgrimages have walked in the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land, in years when travel to the Middle East is not advised, the seminarians instead walk in the footsteps of the saints throughout Europe.
This year’s Desert Formation Experience is Fr. vanRooyen’s fourth, the first being as a seminarian in 2007. This is his third time as priest guide and formator.
“When we went to the Holy Land, being in the places where Jesus walked helped prepare the men for their 30-day Ignatian silent retreat in July, during which the men pray in silence with Scripture centered on the life of Jesus,” Fr. vanRooyen said. “The pilgrimage helped to paint the picture for their prayer.”
For the European pilgrimage, the seminarians’ hearts are primed for their 30-day retreat by praying with Mary and the saints.
The group went to Fatima at the beginning of the trip and will visit other apparition sites in the coming weeks. In Spain, they’ll spend time praying at the burial sites of St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross, Carmelite saints known for an emphasis on deep prayer.
“This trip instills a contemplative spirit,” Fr. Kirkconnell said. “It also helps them to grow in friendship with the saints, knowing that we need their intercession to help us on a path to holiness. St. Therese says that God calls each of us to be saints, and God does not ask the impossible.”
Also in Spain, the seminarians and their formators will journey to Manresa, where St. Ignatius of Loyola developed his spiritual exercises — a set of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices. The exercises aim to deepen one’s relationship to God and align one’s will with His.
The group will then travel to France, with time in Lourdes and in Ars, where St. John Vianney spent his ministry.
“St. John Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests, and so we go there to ask him to help us and the men be good and holy priests, learning from his example,” Fr. vanRooyen said.
The pilgrimage will include a stop at the patronal place of the seminary, Paray-le-Monial, where Christ revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century.
The Desert Formation Experience will finish in Italy, visiting sites in Assisi and ending in Rome in early June.
The pilgrimage is not a retreat or a vacation, Frs. vanRooyen and Kirkconnell say, but a time of deep prayer and self-sacrifice for the men. They attend daily Mass together, holy hours, and regular Scripture reading and reflection. They also spend many hours on buses together and long days on their feet.
“Msgr. Trapp was all about being a pilgrim. A pilgrimage is a microcosm of our whole life,” Fr. Kirkconnell said. “In the Eucharistic prayer, it says, ‘your pilgrim church on earth,’ because we are on this pilgrimage toward heaven. And on this path, things sometimes don’t go as planned. We have to learn how to love those around us in those times and be able to surrender to the Lord and trust in His providence.”
As the seminarians get to know the saints and draw closer to Mary during their pilgrimage, they also take in the beauty and history of their Catholic faith.
“We see magnificent basilicas and art, and the gifts of the people for the glory of God,” Fr. Kirkconnell said. “We pray the whole experience will inspire them to a deep love for Christ and His Church, and then to lead others to that same love and devotion to the Lord and the Church.”
To learn more about this year’s Desert Formation Experience
To hear about the pilgrimage from the seminarians’ point of view, listen to their podcast on Spotify, “Pilgrims to Pastors.”