What does our chaplain, Fr. Zack, do during the summer while students are away from campus? Among other things, he leads an annual pilgrimage to Poland: Theology of the Body in the Footsteps of St. John Paul II. Each summer, Fr. Zack brings students and young adults to the places that shaped St. John Paul II (Pope 1978-2005): from his childhood home in Wadowice and his years as a university student and clandestine seminarian during the Nazi occupation, to his ministry as a college chaplain, professor, Archbishop, and Cardinal in Kraków.
Along the way, pilgrims pray at the shrines of Our Lady of Częstochowa and Divine Mercy, visit Auschwitz, and discover Poland’s magnificent churches and Christian heritage. A highlight is traveling into the Tatra Mountains, where the young Fr. Karol Wojtyła — the future pope — led students on hiking, camping, skiing, and kayaking trips, building friendships and speaking with them about prayer, vocation, marriage, and love. Following his example, Fr. Zack leads pilgrims up the iconic Mount Giewont, more than 6,200 feet above sea level, and they kayak on the Dunajec River along the Polish-Slovak border.
The journey also includes daily seminars on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, his profound teaching on human dignity and love. Pilgrims reflect on creation, sin, redemption, and our eternal destiny while discerning how God calls each person to love through marriage, priesthood, religious life, and Christian discipleship.
For Fr. Zack, the pilgrimage is another way of deepening his priestly specialization in marriage and the family. At Aquinas, he has led many seminars for students on the teachings of St. John Paul II and will introduce a new seminar this fall: Theology of the Body: Human Dignity & Love in the Age of AI.
