Who is Quo Vadis?
Quo Vadis Tours originated as an idea in the early months of 2008, when Dewey Osborn, a seasoned pilgrimage tour director from the Midwest moved and took up residence in Washington, D.C. Dewey’s love for and interest in Catholic history and culture on the East Coast was sparked by his travels with church groups to the area from Illinois and Missouri. After several tours to the Washington area, Dewey relocated to the area.
Upon registration as a parishioner at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Dewey began to receive the Archdiocese’s weekly newspaper, and was surprised to learn that pilgrimage tour companies did not typically offer quality, inclusive pilgrimage tours to sites in Italy and the Vatican that the most Americans could commonly afford. Because he had worked as a pilgrimage tour director for a non-profit, Catholic tour operator for years before, Dewey was accustomed to helping people experience world-class tours to important shrines and sites in Rome, Assisi, Florence, Cassino, Pompeii, and the Vatican at honest prices, with enjoyable itineraries.
Dewey has designed and directed programs to countries across the world, including numerous areas of interest in the United States, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Germany, and Austria for nearly a decade. His love of pilgrimage tours, as a pilgrim and as a director, started with Rome and Assisi when he was in college, and he has completed 20 group tours of Rome and Assisi. Over the years, he has developed strong relationships with hotel operators, restaurant owners, tour guides, transportation companies, and airlines. Because of these relationships and his experience, Dewey is able to offer opportunities for travel to the important shrines and sites in Italy at an exceptional price.
Dewey and Quo Vadis Tours look forward to serving and experiencing with you the wonders of the Eternal City!
Why the name Quo Vadis?
During Nero's persecution of Christians in Rome, it is believed that Peter, fearing for his life and wishing to avoid martyrdom, contemplated flight. Upon approaching the gate on the Via Appia, Peter met Our Lord, who was walking into Rome. Peter asked Our Lord: Domine, Quo Vadis?, which is, Lord, where are you going? This account, which is recorded in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, is told here:
From the apocryphal Acts of Peter:
And he obeyed the brethren's voice and went forth alone, saying: "Let none of you come forth with me, but I will go forth alone, having changed the fashion of my apparel." And as he went forth of the city, he saw the Lord entering into Rome. And when he saw him, he said: "Domine, quo vadis?" or "Lord, wither goest thou?" And the Lord said unto him: "I go into Rome to be crucified." And Peter said unto him. "Lord, art thou being crucified again?" He said unto him: "Yes, Peter, I am being crucified again." And Peter came to himself; and having beheld the Lord ascending up into Heaven, he returned to Rome, rejoycing, and glorifying the Lord, for that he said: "I am being crucified"; the which was about to befall Peter.
Retrieved from: http://romanchurches.wikia.com/wiki/Domine_Quo_Vadis
What is a Quo Vadis Pilgramage?
In his apostolic exhortation, Tertio Millenio Adveniente, Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, expresses the importance of a return to the basics by renewing ourselves spiritually. Part of that spiritual renewal can be accomplished by a religious journey known as a pilgrimage. Since early times in the life of the Church, pilgrimages have been an important part of Christian tradition. Catholics have been pilgrims for various reasons, among them being reparation for sin, to obtain favors, or to give thanks for graces received.
The Church's Book of Blessings says that, "whether in a traditional or modern form, a pilgrimage to a holy place, to the tomb of a saint, or to a shrine should be regarded as having pastoral value. Pilgrimages are occasions for conversion, spiritual growth, and the advance of the apostolate" (Paragraph 590). Pilgrimage tours like the ones offered by Quo Vadis Tours can be grace-filled opportunities for re-commitment to the Gospel.
Quo Vadis Tours exists for the purpose of helping persons interested in making pilgrimage tours to the Eternal City. Our mission is to provide pilgrims with convenient flight schedules, comfortable sleeping accomodations, delicious meals, and opportunities for prayer and appreciation of God's beautiful world. We believe that the absence of huge amounts of overhead allow us to provide these pilgrimage packages at a cost far below what others in the area may offer. We work from a small office in our home and have a minimal staff, recognizing that any sort of over-expansion would require overly-inflated package pricing, thus making pilgrimages to the Eternal City inaccessible.