ROCHESTER — For the Hood family, one pilgrimage can lead to another.
In the summer of 2025, Chris Hood hiked through northeast Spain with a contingent from McQuaid Jesuit High School, where he is a longtime theology teacher. The group journeyed along Camino Ignaciano, the path that St. Ignatius of Loyola — founder of the Jesuit order — took in 1522 from Loyola to Manresa, marking his spiritual conversion.
As Hood later recounted his experiences to his brother, Franciscan Father Jason Hood, they seized upon the idea of making the latter’s visit home from Italy this summer — to note his 25th year in the priesthood — into its own version of a pilgrimage.
That idea became reality July 13-31, when Father Hood visited several parts of the Rochester Diocese as well as destinations in New York and Canada. Joining him from Italy were two teens from his parish, Riccardo Bernardini and Emanuele D’Antoni; and a seminarian, Fra (Brother) Samuel Delpino. Their travels combined spiritual components with fun and sightseeing.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve been home. So I thought as long as I’m going, I would like to bring some young people. It’s a chance to evangelize them, help them meet the Lord in a different way and experience a new culture,” Father Hood explained.
Pilgrimage included sites around Rochester Diocese, other nearby areas
The pilgrimage began with the visitors’ arrival in Toronto — the first plane trip ever for Riccardo and Emanuele — where they enjoyed the Canada’s Wonderland amusement park . Next up were Niagara Falls for a ride on the Maid of the Mist, then Buffalo for a visit to Our Lady of Victory Basilica followed by a meal of chicken wings.
Upon arriving in Rochester July 16, the group visited McQuaid for Mass, dinner, a school tour and recreational activities, with student volunteers serving as hosts.
“The school is huge, so huge,” Emanuele remarked. He and Riccardo noted that McQuaid’s athletic facilities are vast compared to their high school’s facilities, which consist of little more than a small gymnasium.
The following day included an afternoon trip to Ontario Beach Park. There, the pilgrims kicked around a ball with some beach-goers they met. Father Hood and Fra Delpino remained in their full-length habits on the sand, standing out among the many swimsuit-clad beach patrons.
Chris Hood observed that Father Hood and Fra Delpino maintained their full religious attire publicly throughout their stay: “It says that every moment I am going to be here, I am going to honor God. It made me proud to be a Roman Catholic.”
While in Rochester, the pilgrims lodged at the Mercy Spirituality Center. They then spent a week at Camp Koinonia in Yates County, taking part in Family Camp.
Back in Monroe County July 26, they attended the 11 a.m. Mass at Penfield’s St. Joseph Church to celebrate Father Hood’s silver priestly jubilee followed by a luncheon. Extended family members — including the Hood brothers’ uncle, Father James Schwartz, pastor of St. Joseph and Penfield’s Holy Spirit Parish — were on hand that day to honor Father Hood, who was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 by St. John Paul II and has served in Italy ever since. He belongs to the Franciscan Family of Mary Immaculate religious order and is pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Pisoniano, near Rome.
Then it was on to Auriesville, near Albany, to visit shrines and burial sites of Jesuit North American martyrs. Finally, the visitors took a train to New York City, where they stayed at a retreat house in the Bronx and visited several churches as well as the Bronx Botanical Gardens before flying back to Italy.
Pilgrimage a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience
Chris Hood, who joined the Italian pilgrims for several of their activities, said the itinerary he planned with his brother sought to follow the spirit of his own 2025 pilgrimage to Camino Ignaciano. The Spanish hiking route — which also was visited by two groups of McQuaid faculty members and students in the summer of 2026 — winds through rugged mountain terrain. Hood said he averaged walking eight miles a day in 2025 — 60 to 70 miles total — but he did not want to throw the same kind of grueling pace at his recent visitors.
According to Riccardo and Emanuele, the activities they did experience rated a big thumbs-up.
“This is once in a lifetime,” Riccardo said of his trip. “It’s like another world.”
In addition, the pilgrimage marked a satisfying reunion for the Hoods. Chris said he and Father Hood visit each other every few years, but “it’s the most time I’ve spent with my brother since high school.”
Tags: Monroe County East, Pilgrimages, Religious Orders
