The mission of the first "Our Fathers Ride" in 2015.
“Our Fathers Ride” invites priests and seminarians to join in a bicycle pilgrimage of prayer to the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (a pioneer for the Parochial School System with her free school being the cradle of Catholic Education in America) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Following her inspiration, the goal of the ride is to both promote and financially support Catholic School Education. Each priest will ride for the school of his choice with funds being raised primarily through individual per mile sponsorships. We plan to have all riders meet in Emmitsburg on Thursday, June 4th, 2015 followed by mass and evening prayer at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary along with dinner and an enjoyable evening of priestly fraternity. The following morning (First Friday June 5th), we will celebrate mass at the National Shrine followed by lunch and departure. Perhaps the largest group of priests will begin the trip at Lourdes Shrine, nestled in the scenic rolling landscape of Litchfield County, Connecticut. We will leave at approximately 10:00 am on the morning of Friday, May 29th, 2015. Accommodations can be provided at Lourdes Shrine for the evening of May 28th in the event that a priest is traveling from a distant diocese. All cars can be parked at the Shrine in Litchfield for the duration of the trip. The total trip is approximately 350 miles traveling north of New York City and through Pennsylvania avoiding heavily traveled roads. Sleeping accommodations for each night of the trip will be arranged and the trip will be fully supported by a van carrying all luggage, first aid, bike parts, Gatorade, etc. We plan to all dress the same for the trip; black bike shorts, orange reflective shirt with a “V” neck showing partial priestly black shirt and collar. Lunch will be picked up along the ride. All bikes will be returned to Litchfield by truck and we will all ride back to Connecticut on a chartered Bus arriving Friday evening. For those priests leaving from other parts of the country, we will have accommodations prepared for you in Emmitsberg, however each priest will coordinate his own route. We recommend riding with at least one other priest. We believe that this ride can easily be a $50,000-$100,000 fund raiser for each school if not more. We plan extensive publicity and believe this will not only support Catholic Schools but also priestly fraternity and vocations, not to mention good health.
