Alumni Weekend in Rome
The Holy Father address a private audience of faculty, bishops, alumni, and seminarians of the North American College.
Today was the best day of my life! While that may sound like a stretch, let me explain. To mark the 150th Anniversary of the Founding of the Pontifical North American College, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI invited the faculty, bishops, alumni, and seminarians to a private papal audience. All of us, seminarians, realized that there were so many people that were going to be present that it would be very unlikely that we would have a chance to meet the Holy Father. However, just being able to be in such close proximity to the Roman Pontiff had created a buzz of energy throughout the college in the last few weeks as the Alumni Reunion drew closer.
Today began with a Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica celebrated by His Eminence John Cardinal Foley. I was very blessed to be able to serve the Mass by wearing a humeral veil and holding Cardinal Foley’s miter when he was not using it. It was a very simple job but as I sat in my chair beneath the Holy Spirit window, the reality of what was happening around me took my breath away. Immediately, everything around me took on a richer color, and the massiveness of the Basilica overwhelmed me. Here I was, a first year seminarian for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, holding the miter of a Prince of the Catholic Church. Every moment seemed to freeze for me to take it all in.
Later in the morning, all of the seminarians, faculty, and alumni gathered at the front entrance of the seminary and we made our way through St. Peter’s Square and then we were quickly guided by the Swiss Guard to the Loggia, the area above the main doors of St. Peter’s Basilica. This large hall is situated between five large, windowed balconies that overlook the Square. The other side of the hall has matching windows that overlook the interior of the Basilica. I was able to get a seat next to the aisle and about six rows from the front. It was exciting to be surrounded by seminarian friends as we anticipated the private audience with the Holy Father. No one knew what time the Pope would arrive, so we all took a seat, made small talk with each other, and frequently glanced towards the entrances of the hall. After waiting for about ninety minutes, all of the lights turned on and we could all hear the faint gasp as we all took in the fact that we were about to see Christ’s vicar on Earth, the Pope.
As the curtains at the end of the hall were pulled back, the Holy Father raised his hands, and we responded with a loud applause. However, I quickly realized that the Pope was taking a long time to make it down the first part of the aisle. As soon as I received a clear view, I saw that the Holy Father was shaking hands with the North American College guests on the far side of the aisle. I thought to myself, “Wow! I might actually get to meet the Pope!” I kept waiting for him to cross the aisle to our side, but he just kept shaking hands on the other side.
One of the seminarians whispered to me that it looked like the Holy Father was going to stay on that side of the aisle and was going to leave the hall by coming to our side of the aisle. I cannot explain what was going through my mind, but I turned to my friend Joseph and said, “Joe, I think we are actually going to meet the Holy Father!” He responded with a huge smile and shook his head in agreement. What a moment!
The procession slowly made its way towards the front and the Holy Father made his way to his chair. This was followed by a speech given by the rector of the Pontifical North American College, Monsignor James Checchio, and then we sang “Ad Multos Annos.”
Then the Holy Father addressed us (see the previous blog for the text of the speech). It was such a surreal moment to know that I was so close to the Holy Father and that I may get to meet him. In what seemed like seconds and hours, at the same time, the Holy Father finished his address, took a picture with the bishops and cardinals in attendance and then made his way toward the aisle as we all erupted again into applause. As Pope Benedict approached me, I noticed that he was looking straight at me and was smiling. He shook a few other hands and then it was my turn. I shook his hand and told him that I was praying for him and I also thanked him for his priesthood. He smiled and shook his head and then I kissed his ring. It felt like I spoke to him for a full minute, but in reality it was very quick. As he moved on to my other seminarian brothers, I turned back towards Joseph and we were both just beaming with joy. I turned back towards the Holy Father just in time to see my friends, Brandon and Alan, shake hands with the Pope. We all continued clapping until the Holy Father finished greeting us!
After the Pope left the Loggia, we slowly made our way through the Vatican and back to main bronze doors to the Papal Palace. My walk back to the North American College was through sheets of rain, but I hardly noticed. As I walked by the hundreds of tourists and pilgrims coming to see the beautiful Basilica of St. Peter, I was reminded that our Catholic faith, nourished by the blood of the martyrs, is something tangible. Just as Jesus Christ called St. Peter to become the foundation stone of the Church, St. Peter’s successor continues to strengthen the Church by drawing all of us closer to Jesus Christ. Today was the best day of my life because, even though it was only a moment, I encountered Jesus Christ’s vicar on Earth, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI!
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- The NAC House Cassock is composed of a black cassock with blue buttons and a red fascia.
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- Brandon, Peter, and I served the Alumni Mass celebrated by His Eminence John Cardinal Foley at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
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- The Holy Father greets the seminarians of the North American College.
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- Pope Benedict addresses the seminarians, faculty, and alumni of the North American College.
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- This is the balcony that the Holy Father walks out onto after being elected Pope.
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- His Excellency Timothy Dolan was a rector of the North American College and is now the Archbishop of New York.
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- These steps lead up to the Papal Apartment and the rest of the Papal Palace.
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- Seminarians, Faculty, and Alumni of the North American College applaud as Pope Benedict XVI enters the Loggia.
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- His Excellency Anthony Taylor was a priest from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma until he was named Bishop of Little Rock by Pope Benedict XVI.
Address to the North American College by Pope Benedict XVI
The following is the address from the Holy Father to the bishops, faculty, alumni, and seminarians of the North American College. The message was given in the Vatican Loggia and marked the 150th Anniversary of America’s Seminary in Rome.
The Holy Father address a private audience of faculty, bishops, alumni, and seminarians of the North American College.
Your Eminences, Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
I am pleased to welcome the alumni of the Pontifical North American College, together with the Rector, faculty and students of the seminary on the Janiculum hill, and the student priests of the Casa Santa Maria dell’Umiltà. Our meeting comes at the conclusion of the celebrations marking the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the College’s establishment by my predecessor, Blessed Pius IX. On this happy occasion I willingly join you in thanking the Lord for the many ways in which the College has remained faithful to its founding vision by training generations of worthy preachers of the Gospel and ministers of the sacraments, devoted to the Successor of Peter and committed to the building up of the Church in the United States of America.
It is appropriate, in this Year for Priests, that you have returned to the College and this Eternal City in order to give thanks for the academic and spiritual formation, which has nourished your priestly ministry over the years. The present Reunion is an opportunity not only to remember with gratitude the time of your studies, but also to reaffirm your filial affection for the Church of Rome, to recall the apostolic labors of the countless alumni who have gone before you, and to recommit yourselves to the high ideals of holiness, fidelity and pastoral zeal which you embraced on the day of your ordination. It is likewise an occasion to renew your love for the College and your appreciation of its distinctive mission to the Church in your country.
During my Pastoral Visit to the United States, I expressed my conviction that the Church in America is called to cultivate “an intellectual ‘culture’ which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith’s vision to bear on the pressing issues which affect the future of American society” (Homily at Nationals Stadium, Washington, 17 April 2008). As Blessed Pius IX rightly foresaw, the Pontifical North American College in Rome is uniquely prepared to help meet this perennial challenge. In the century and a half since its foundation, the College has offered its students an exceptional experience of the universality of the Church, the breadth of her intellectual and spiritual tradition, and the urgency of her mandate to bring Christ’s saving truth to the men and women of every time and place. I am confident that, by emphasizing these hallmarks of a Roman education in every aspect of its program of formation, the College will continue to produce wise and generous pastors capable of transmitting the Catholic faith in its integrity, bringing Christ’s infinite mercy to the weak and the lost, and enabling America’s Catholics to be a leaven of the Gospel in the social, political and cultural life of their nation.
Dear brothers, I pray that in these days you will be renewed in the gift of the Holy Spirit, which you received on the day of your ordination. In the College chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady is portrayed in the company of four outstanding models and patrons of priestly life and ministry: Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Pius X, Saint John Mary Vianney and Saint Vincent de Paul. During this Year for Priests, may these great saints continue to watch over the students who daily pray in their midst; may they guide and sustain your own ministry, and intercede for the priests of the United States. With cordial good wishes for the spiritual fruitfulness of the coming days, and with great affection in the Lord, I impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to all the alumni and friends of the Pontifical North American College.
