Back from Israel, Kenosha priest details church group's experience

KENOSHA, Wis. - A Kenosha church group is now back home after being in Israel when the war began.

"The reality of it kind of sinks in after a day or two in terms of what you left and where you are," said Father Roman Stikel of St. Mary Catholic Church.

It was not the return home Stikel expected. He and his group of 32 parishioners made it home safely Friday.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

"We were getting texts back and forth from home, there were a lot of people here that were really worried," he said. "There was a great deal of anxiety among the group."

The group was supposed to be on a pilgrimage across the holy land in the Middle East. Instead, they ended up in a war zone.

St. Mary Catholic Church parishioners 

"The first Saturday that we were there, we boarded a bus, and we were ready to go across the border to Jerusalem," said Stikel. "We’re sitting on the bus and we hear these concussive explosions.

"We could hear the concussions, and when we looked up in the sky we could see trails of rockets."

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

The parishioners ended up making their way to Jordan, posting updates of their journey along the way.

"As we were at the Jordanian border before crossing over there were groups from everywhere," Stikel said.

Father Roman Stikel of St. Mary Catholic Church

However, not all of those groups were as lucky.

"There was a young lady that joined us. Her name was Halina, she was there with a group of 26, and she had made it out of Israel," said Stikel, "but the 25 didn’t."

CONTINUE READING: Follow the latest developments on the Israel Hamas war

While the Stikel is now back on U.S. soil, his thoughts are with the Middle East.

"Feels helpless, perhaps all of us do because we are not there anymore, and we don’t have direct contact," he said. "At least what we can do is we can pray."

The church plans on holding several Masses dedicated to praying for people impacted by the war.