Family sees beauty in churches during pilgrimage

April 24, 2025

The Banaag family – mom Mary Therese, dad Jan Paul, and little Joaquin Isaac – rose at 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning and hit the road on a faith journey.

The Banaags took a Saturday off from work as nurses and made their first trip to Des Moines from Council Bluffs to make a day of the Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrimage in the Diocese of Des Moines.

“It was such a beautiful journey for us,” Mary Therese said. “We wanted that day to be all for Jesus, our offering for Lent, and to give thanks for all the blessings we have received as a family.”

There were several reasons to do the pilgrimage. Mary Therese and Jan Paul wanted their son to grow closer to God, for them to grow closer as a family, for their son to learn about a plenary indulgence, and to see the beauty of various churches throughout the Diocese.

It also seemed timely because Joaquin is preparing for his First Communion.

“My favorite part was visiting the churches with my family and teaching my son to have faith in God,” said Jan Paul. “That’s all you can share with him: how to be faithful, how to pray to God, and enjoy the beautiful churches.”

They arrived in time for morning Mass at St. Ambrose Cathedral, then stopped by the Basilica of St. John for prayer.

“The basilica was still closed when we got there, but the parish priest was there for a baptism or something. We were able to come in and pray and get the stamps” on their jubilee passport postcards, said Mary Therese.

The family went to Christ the King Church, too. On that sunny spring day they took in some sightseeing like the state capital, the Des Moines Art Center, and the sculpture garden downtown.

They stopped at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Atlantic in time for the 5:30 p.m. Mass on the way home.

“We got home around 9 o’clock,” said Mary Therese. It was a long day. Joaquin fell asleep in the backseat on the way home.

The family attended Mass at their home parish of Corpus Christi the next day, thereby having visited all five pilgrimage churches in the Des Moines Diocese in one weekend.

Mary Therese said: “It was such a beautiful day, with beautiful weather, to really experience the journey.”