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.
New Man Weekend and Advent
Before I begin, I want to let you know that I will be utilizing a few new features for the website. Firstly, you may notice the falling snow on the screen. Don’t worry, it is a special feature that will be on this website until January 4th. I have also uploaded a new website banner featuring a picture of me with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background. Finally, I will be uploading photos with a new mobile application that allows me to post photos with a short description. There are always cool things going on in the city and this feature will allow me to share it with you quickly.
The last couple weeks have flown by with amazing speed. Thanksgiving Day was a wonderful day at the North American College. We welcomed Americans from all over the city to join us for Mass and for a huge Thanksgiving Banquet, complete with turkey and pumpkin pie. Of course, it would not be an Italian style meal without some pasta, but it was a wonderful banquet. Everyone sat with others from their state. At the Oklahoma Table, we had decorations of cowboy hats and Oklahoma license plates. It was a great meal with great conversations.
The following Friday night was the New Man Dinner. It allowed all of the men in my class to come together, share a meal, and reflect on everything that has happened in the last six months. Several men from our class prepared fajitas for the main course and it was all served on the fifth floor, open-aired terrace. The food was really good and it was apparent that many people worked together to make it happen.
The New Man Weekend is always so busy. In a way it helps us forget about being so far from home for the Thanksgiving Weekend. My major contribution to the class was acting as a technical director for the New Man Show on Saturday night. I worked the lighting console and worked with the other technical director, Alan, to produce a great talent show for the entire seminary community. We took advantage of the 150th Anniversary of the seminary’s founding to highlight a “look back” into the history of the North American College and to look ahead to its future. This concept was presented in a “Saturday Night Live” type of program. The huge project really took shape over the course of three rehearsals and took most of our class working in the background. After our show was over, we had a thirty-minute break and then our class relaxed as we watched the Old Man Show. It was a busy night and I think our class impressed the rest of the seminary. However, the weekend was not over yet!
The busy weekend finally drew to a close on Sunday. Archbishop Beltran was visiting Rome and he concelebrated the First Sunday of Advent Mass. It was great to talk to him for a little while and to welcome him to the seminary that he had assigned me. After Mass, I went with one of the monsignors to drop Archbishop Beltran off at the Vatican and then we returned to see the Spaghetti Bowl. The tradition of the Spaghetti Bowl has been around for a while and it officially concludes the New Man Weekend. The football game pairs the New Man football team against the “Old Men”, composed of members of the rest of the seminary. The Old Men had the advantage with more talent to choose from, but our class put up a great fight. We lost by less than a touchdown (35-38, I believe). We also had a cookout with the best burgers I have had since I left the United States. It was a great day.
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- My classmates played a great game of football.
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- Peter bore the US flag and Damien bore the Australian flag.
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- James was a great quarterback.
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- James did a great job at QB.
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- We put up a good fight. Final Score: 36-38 (or something like that)
Unfortunately, I came down with the flu on Monday evening and I was stuck in my room for the rest of the week. It was even more unfortunate because the Archbishop was in town and I missed out on some great opportunities to spend time with him. I was able to join him for a few meals, for a formal meeting, and for a private Mass before he returned to the United States on Friday. I finally went to visit a doctor on Friday and was able to get all of the medicine that I needed. I am feeling a lot better, but I am not fully recovered yet. I am going to take the advice of my body and try to give it some time to recuperate.
In other news, my corridor (4th Floor – Convent) has been undergoing a mutation from a normal residential hallway, to a magical winter wonderland. I will post pictures up later, but it has been a great change of scenery for the hall. We are decorating the hall with the theme of the “O Antiphons”, the special period beginning on December 17th that is highlighted by the breviary. For example, the first “O Antiphon” for evening prayer on December 17th starts with “O Sapientia, O Wisdom…” They are beautiful antiphons and several guys are painting huge scrolls, which will line our hall with these ancient Advent longings for the coming of Jesus Christ. These scrolls will lead to the large nativity scene at the end of the hall. We also have garland and white Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling.
Here are the “O Antiphons”:
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
I hope you are all having a prayerful Advent!
Mass with Archbishop Joseph Di Noia and Diaconate Ordinations
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- Altar of the Chair
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- St. Peter’s Dome
Last week at the North American College was Deacon Week. The Fourth-Year Theologians were ordained deacons in St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday. However, leading up to the ordinations was very exciting. The week began with the Mass of Thankgiving by Archbishop Joseph Di Noia. He was ordained a bishop over the summer in Washington, D.C. and was named the Secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship, an office within the Vatican. Therefore, the Mass served as an official “Vatican Welcome” with many cardinals, bishops, priests, and others from the Roman Curia. I think everyone was at the North American College for the Mass from the Vatican, except Pope Benedict XVI! It was a huge!
On Wednesday evening, there was a Vigil for the men that were to be ordained deacons the following morning. The vigil was basically a Holy Hour, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, Readings, a homily, and a candlelight procession to the Grotto of Our Lady in front of the main entrance to the North American College. Following the prayerful evening, the seminarians from Oklahoma got together to have a going-away party for an Oklahoman seminarian who was returning to the Diocese of Tulsa for a pastoral year. The four of us had a great evening telling stories and talking about the excitement in the air for the soon-to-be-ordained deacons. We will miss you this year, Sean!
The following morning, Thursday, October 8th, 2009, my group of seminarians left for St. Peter’s Basilica really early. My job during the ordination was to usher people to their seats, seat the parents, family, and VIPs. The ordination took place at the Altar of the Chair within St. Peter’s Basilica, but I sat on the back steps of the High Altar for most of the Mass. It was so cool to experience thousands of people traveling here from the United States in order to see their son, grandson, brother, uncle, or friend, being ordained a deacon in St. Peter’s Basilica!
Following the Mass, a group of us were allowed to leave a side exit to the Vatican Grounds and then we rushed back to the North American College to set-up the Reception. My job was to keep the tables stocked with snacks and sandwiches for all of the North American College’s guests. However, after the reception was over, I rushed to my room, finished packing my bag, and then met Ryan and David downstairs to go to the airport for our flight to Malta for the weekend. The Ordination Day was amazing and it struck me several times of how fast these next three years will probably pass by before my ordination to the Diaconate, God-willing.
Pope Benedict XVI
Yesterday was a very special day for all of the first year seminarians at the Pontifical North American College. We were able to travel to Pope Benedict XVI’s summer residence, Castelgandolfo, for his Sunday Angelus address, prayer, and blessing upon the pilgrims. There were two full charter buses that transported us to the papal palace and we then entered a private entrance into the Papal Garden. It was very exciting to know that I was getting ready to see the Holy Father! When we departed the buses, we were free to walk around a little in the shade before moving to the public area of the palace. When we finally started walking towards to the piazza, we had to move to one side to let a car through. It was the Pope’s private car, but he wasn’t in it. Oh well!
We finally were able to position ourselves into the cortile (courtyard) next to one of the walls. There was so much excitement in the air as the minutes ticked away. Finally, just moments before the Pope came into view, the Swiss Guard stood at attention and everyone roared with cheers. Then Pope Benedict stepped out onto the balcony. Check out the video of the Papal Address by clicking here. Skip to 10 minutes and 50 seconds to see his special address to us and also for our class’ tradition of singing “Ad Multos Annos” for the first time to the Holy Father. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget it.
After the Papal Audience, we went to a restaurant that is a few blocks from the papal palace for Pranzo (lunch). It was a nice meal and we had a beautiful view of the lake that lies below the papal palace. After Pranzo, we were invited to tour the Papal Gardens by Archbishop James Harvey, Prefecture of the Papal Household. It was a great tour, but more importantly it made Pope Benedict XVI seem more real. I was walking on the path that we would walk on later that afternoon. I remember looking at several trees and thinking, “I wonder if Pope Benedict ever looks at that tree?”
We finished the tour by stopping at the statue of Mary that Pope Benedict XVI goes to every evening, while in Castelgandolfo, in order to pray the rosary with his two assistants. We were told that he prays there every evening at a specific time. Therefore, I was able to know that in less than one hour after leaving that spot, the Pope would come and pray there. WOW! That is mind bending!
It was a wonderful day and meant a lot to be in such close proximity to Christ’s vicar on Earth.
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- Me, Jason Doke, Ryan Browning, and David Esquiliano waiting to see Pope Benedict XVI.
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- Pope Benedict’s Car
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- Me and Msgr. Checchio before the Papal Angelus.
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- Moments before seeing the Pope!
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- Pope Benedict XVI gave a short talk on the importance of families.
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- This lake is behind the papal palace.
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- Walking through the papal gardens.
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- That was cool!
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- Archbishop Harvey feeds the fish near the place where Pope Benedict prays the rosary everyday.
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- We prayed the “Hail Holy Queen” prayer just one hour before Pope Benedict would pray the rosary from the same spot.
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- Msgr. Mueggenborg, Archbishop Harvey, and Msgr. Checchio moments before we entered the cortile.
First Days in the Eternal City
Today was my second full day in the city of Rome. It is so hard to believe that I am here. This week has been a week of orientation for the new first year seminarians here at the Pontifical North American College. I have no idea where the tradition began, but everyone refers to the first year men as New Men. The early orientation team, composed of second year men, have been so generous with their time to help us make the transition from the United States to Italy. It has been a great few days. My only real problem has been the “jet lag”. My body thinks I am taking a nap at night and then I wake up feeling refreshed around 2:30am. Not fun!
My journey to Rome began on Sunday, July 19, 2009. I flew around the country until I finally arrived in Newark, New Jersey. In fact, I caught my first glimpse of New York City from the plane! In Newark, I met up with the other seminarians. When we arrived in Rome on Monday, July 20th, we were promptly greeted by the second year men and all loaded up onto a charter bus. We filled the seats with seminarians and shoved our excess luggage under the bus. However, there was so much luggage that we filled the the entire aisle of the bus with luggage. It was pretty incredible. The rest of the day was filled up tours, meals, and unpacking.
The New Men riding from Fiumicino to the NAC.
Yesterday we went to the church of St. Lawrence of Brindisi. St. Lawrence is famous for telling his executioner to flip him over as he was burning alive on a grill. He explained that he was “done on this side”. It is no wonder that St. Lawrence is the patron saint of comedians. We then spent the rest of the afternoon getting lost with the sporadic mass transit system. Let’s just say that there was a lot of walking!!!
The New Men listen to the history of the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome.
I was able to do something today that I have always wanted to do. We went to the Catacombs of Priscilla, which are the only catacombs owned by the Vatican. The catacombs encompass eight miles of tunnels with three different levels. Most of the remains had been exhumed, but there were a few bones that we saw and many unopened burial chambers. The catacombs are rich with early Christian art, including the oldest image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was amazing to pray in the same place that many of the early Christians in Rome prayed. The culmination of our tour was the celebration of Mass in the catacombs.
Msgr. Mueggenborg celebrates Mass in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome.
This evening, my friend, David, and I walked to St. Peter’s Square to admire St. Peter’s Basilica at night. It was very relaxing and it was fun to hear all of the different languages being spoken by the pilgrims that had traveled to Rome. It was an incredible day, but I am exhausted! I am looking forward to having a very relaxing sleep tonight.
Brian standing in St. Peter's Square.
