TORRINGTON, Conn. (CNS) -- Priests and seminarians are getting in shape for what they believe will be a unique seven-day, 350-mile bike pilgrimage to pray and raise money for Catholic schools.

The group will leave from Connecticut's Lourdes in Litchfield Marian shrine May 29 and plan to arrive at the Basilica of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, June 4.

"It's not a race, it's a pilgrimage of prayer," said organizer Father James Sullivan, 54, parochial vicar for the Torrington Cluster of Churches and a lifelong bicycle enthusiast. "Each priest will be riding for his school, as we pray for our schools all the way.

"We hope to raise $50,000 to $100,000 for each school," with per-mile sponsorships from parishioners and other donors, he told The Catholic Transcript, newspaper of the Hartford Archdiocese.

"I've never heard of a group of priests or seminarians doing anything like this," said Father Sullivan, who is calling the pilgrimage Our Father's Ride. "We're very excited about it."

The group has a website, www.ourfathersride.com, and the Connecticut group expects to be joined by priests and seminarians from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland who will ride in support of their schools.

The spark for the trip came while Father Sullivan was talking with his sister, Sister Veronica Mary Sullivan of the Sisters of Life, about his passion for Catholic education and the need for funds for schools.

He noted that before his ordination last year, "I was a contractor. ... I owned a building and restoration business with my brother," in Waterbury. "So I've always been aware of the necessity of funds and the importance of being solvent."

So when the conversation with his sister turned to walks as a way to raise funds, it quickly jumped to the idea of riding bikes. The next thought leap led to Emmitsburg, a cradle of Catholic education, as the destination for the pilgrimage. And the rest fell into place.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the founder of what would become the Catholic school system in the United States. She founded the religious community now known as the Daughters of Charity, and established the first Catholic school in Baltimore in 1808. Shortly thereafter she relocated to nearby Emmitsburg, moving her school there on land purchased by a donor in 1809.

"I've always been an avid bike rider and thought of it as an out-of-the-box way to raise money for our schools," said Father Sullivan. "So we contacted the archdiocesan superintendent of schools, Dale Hoyt, for his support, and met with Archbishop (Leonard P.) Blair for his blessing."

Riders from the three Connecticut Catholic dioceses will depart from the Litchfield shrine following morning prayer and a blessing of bicycles.

"People can donate any amount of money from $3.50 for a penny a mile, to $350 for a dollar a mile" via the website, said Father Sullivan. "We already have a $25,000 donor from Torrington."

Riders will travel at their own pace along lightly traveled roads, stop at selected churches and schools along the way, lodge at area hotels and begin each day with morning Mass.

"We're going to be very safety conscious with reflectors, bright orange safety vests and helmets," he said. And "all priests and seminarians will wear their clerical shirt and collar that can be seen under reflective shirts."

The trip is fully supported by a supply truck that will go back and forth all day along the route, stocked with bike parts, food and medical equipment, he said. A second van will also be in tow for riders who get tired and want to take a break.

Father Sullivan, whose longest lifetime bike ride was about 200 miles from Hyannis on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Waterbury, Connecticut, said that even slower riders will be able to finish the daily 50 miles (which is considered a moderate distance) in six or seven hours.

"We'll be praying for our schools along the way," said Father Sullivan, who is expecting a total contingent of 50 to 100 riders. "I've always found bike riding to be an opportunity for a retreat, as well as a time of prayer and contemplation."

The Connecticut contingent will include Father Tim Hickey, administrator of St. Christopher Church in East Hartford. He was editor of Columbia magazine for the Knights of Columbus for many years before he entered the seminary and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Hartford.

The pilgrimage will conclude June 4 at Mount St. Mary Seminary near the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton. After a June 5 Mass at the shrine, the bikes and riders will return home by truck and van.

"The shrine and seminary are very excited that we're coming," said Father Sullivan.

A welcoming station is being arranged along with overnight lodging at the seminary, where participants will have prayer, dinner and an evening of fraternity.

Father Sullivan even plans to communicate with his school's children via Skype, providing daily accounts of the pilgrimage, and to produce a 20-minute video for parishioners.

"It all came as an inspiration in prayer," said the enthusiastic Father Sullivan. "We're riding for Catholic education, but it's also to promote the priesthood, vocations and priestly fraternity -- not to mention promote good health. So it's a win, win, win."

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Chalupsky is a reporter at The Catholic Transcript, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford.