For two weeks in May, I traveled with the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir through Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Our students presented Drawn Back to the Table in churches, schools, universities, and community settings—but the deepest part of the journey happened around the performances: in shared meals, rehearsals with local musicians, conversations with students and young adults, and the generous hospitality of our hosts.

The project began as a way for the Folk Choir to return together to the stories of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. In Asia, those stories entered new rooms and new relationships. At Fu Jen Catholic University and Guting Sacred Heart Church in Taiwan, the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, the Hong Kong Chinese Church of Christ, and St. Ignatius Church and St. Joseph’s Institution International in Singapore, we encountered communities with their own histories, languages, musical practices, and ways of living the faith.

That changed the work. The music was no longer only something we had carried from Notre Dame. It became an occasion for listening: to local choirs, to students, to congregations, and to the particular life of each place. English and Chinese text appeared beside one another. New voices joined ours. Familiar scenes—the road to Emmaus, the breaking of bread, grief becoming recognition—were received through experiences far beyond the setting in which the piece had first been made.

Moving fifty-five people across four countries required an extraordinary amount of planning and patience. It also required trust. Again and again, our hosts made room for us—not simply on their stages, but at their tables and within their communities.

I returned grateful for Fu Jen Catholic University and Guting Sacred Heart Church; the University of Saint Joseph and the Drawn Back to the Table Macau team; the Hong Kong Chinese Church of Christ and Notre Dame Hong Kong; and St. Ignatius Church and St. Joseph’s Institution International. Their generosity made the journey possible.

Pilgrimage is sometimes described as travel toward a holy place. This journey reminded me that pilgrimage can also mean learning to recognize holiness in the people who receive us—and allowing an encounter to change what we thought we were bringing.

See the tour featured in Notre Dame Global in Photos:

https://ndworks.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-global-in-photos-june-2026/