Roman Echoes 2018 – Volume 23, Issue 1

RomanEchoes NOVEMBER 2018

VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

T H E P O N T I F I C A L N O RT H A M E R I C A N C O L L E G E

Firmum Est Cor Meum, Always 8 Sister Mary Patrice 18 Diaconate 24 Youth Synod Follow Up 32 CRS Experience

Contents 18 8 Features 7 New Faculty

8 Sister Mary Patrice

The Doctor Is In: Sister Mary Patrice

Ahearn, RSM, begins offering her counsel at the College this year.

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Child Protection Ireland Apostolate Rector's Conference Opening Banquet First Masses

18 Diaconate

Embracing the promises

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22 Paul VI & Romero Canonization 23 ReEchoes First Masses

24 Youth Synod Follow Up Pope Francis addressed participants of the 2018 Synod on Young People.

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Celibacy Formation Canon Law and Mercy New Man no More NAC Accredidation

32 CRS Experience

Rev. Frank Furman On Mission in Kenya

32 24 Updates 5 Rector’s Corner 6 NAC Voices 14 Snapshots

6 ICTE 2 27 Economo's Corner 34 Institutional Advancement

From the Editor

"Firmum Est Cor Meum" is one motto that does not disappoint

The wonderful thing about so many old mottos, whether of sacred or even of secular institutions, is that they reliably announce the pure teachings of our faith, or at least what is best about our heritage. Their laconic depth often leaves wordy mission statements and lists of core values sounding trite or ambiguous in comparison. Firmum Est Cor Meum ("Steadfast is my heart") is the College's motto; and it is one motto that does not disappoint, especially during trials. Like the Psalmist, we take this opportunity to pray that God will always give us steadfast hearts to labor against the foe without flinching.

Nathanael Anderson, '20 Archdiocese of Washington Editor-in-Chief

Contributors

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nathanael Anderson '20, Archdiocese of Washington MANAGING EDITOR Nathaniel Glenn '20, Diocese of Phoenix ASSISTANT EDITOR Seth Lemaire '21, Diocese of Lafayette LAYOUT & DESIGN EDITOR Andy DeRouen '20, Diocese of Lake Charles ASSISTANT LAYOUT & DESIGN EDITOR Madison Hayes '21, Archdiocese of Anchorage

Administration

of the Pontifical North American College RECTOR Very Rev. Peter C. Harman ‘99 VICE RECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATION Rev. Kerry Abbott, OFM Conv. ICTE ’14 VICE RECTOR FOR SEMINARY LIFE Rev. Adam Y. Park ‘05 ACADEMIC DEAN AND ROMAN ECHOES FACULTY LIAISON Rev. John P. Cush ’98, C’15 SUPERIOR, CASA SANTA MARIA Rev. Msgr. Fred Berardi C’82 DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION Rev. Edward Linton, OP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Mark Randall, CFRE

For more information about the Pontifical North American College, subscription questions, or to learn about ways you can financially support “America’s Seminary in Rome,” please contact Mark Randall, CFRE, Executive Director, Institutional Advancement.

Tel: (202) 541-5411 Fax: (202) 722-8804 Email: pnacdc@pnac.org Website: www.pnac.org This publication is written, edited and photographed by the students of the Pontifical North American College.

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LEFT: The tortuous columns of Bernini's Baldachinno and graceful triumph of St. Peter's dome tower over the forty new NAC deacons on their ordination day.

Rector’s Corner Steadfast Through the Trials

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s I write this in early October, I realize that this has not been an easy few months for Catholics in the United States. News of misconduct within the Church has caused confusion and hurt among the faithful, among us all. It brought back memories to me of the climate in 2002, when I had only been ordained a short time, and it was a time of real challenge for my vocation. In every vocation, difficult moments can have us questioning if we have made the right decision and if we have what it takes to persevere.

No one is exempt from that trial at some point in their life.

I would like, at the very outset of this Roman Echoes publication, to touch upon two things for your prayer and reflection. The first is our own response as a seminary community. The second is our reason to be hopeful. I think that as friends and benefactors of our work, you deserve this information.

We were all away from the community as the news began. When the faculty returned, our first work and prayer was to prepare ourselves for how men in formation might face this struggle, how we might best listen, and how we would be open to how it was affecting their own vocations. When the men returned in August, I was struck with

how happy they were to be back. It was not a simple flight from bad news, it was a real desire to be together in this place, with their brothers, and with priests, faculty and staff which make up a positive and encouraging environment. I addressed each class as they arrived, reassuring them of both my responsibility and commitment to maintain the integrity and fidelity that this house has been blessed to enjoy, as well as my availability to respond to any of their concerns.

Many took me up on this, and all of these conversations were constructive, and thankfully required no dramatic change of direction or adjustment to the house or any of its members. My opening Rector’s Conference, even longer than usual, was an attempt to help the men focus on three things: helping us maintain this holy and faithful environment, not being overly drawn in to the seemingly endless speculation in the press and social media, and putting their efforts, as any priest must do, on what is under their control and not on what is outside their power to change. What is that for them? Be holy, be truthful, be honest and be joyfully formed…that is what God is asking of these men today.

That is why I am hopeful. This is not a naïve approach. That is not burying one’s head in the sand. That is not denying that more work will be asked

of each of us. The men in formation for the priesthood today are screened, accompanied, challenged to grow humanly, intellectually, spiritually and pastorally and held accountable for it.

They are informed of the challenges which await them, and are dedicated to growth in holiness and virtue. It means little for me just to write these things I know, but I remind you of what you already know. Every visitor here, everyone we had for the beautiful diaconate ordination on September 27th comes away with hope in the joy and community we are blessed to share. That cannot exist where there is falsehood, lack of integrity or virtue. It cannot be faked.

Our men and our seminary community need your prayers and support as much as ever. I hope you know how our faculty and staff have worked hard to accompany our men in these days, a work they are blessed to undertake and will continue. I hope you will remain a supporter of this College and the hope it brings to our Church.

God Bless you for your goodness to us.

Very Reverend Peter C. Harman, STD ’99, Rector

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“A priest mentor of mine once told me, 'it is crucial for a future priest to keep his eyes on Heaven, his heart on the cross, and his feet on the ground.' My heart remains steadfast through striving to live with this piece of wisdom constantly on my heart and mind, as well as through the daily reception of the Eucharist.”

Chris Smith, Diocese of Austin, Class of 2020

“Fostering bonds of community and fraternity has been vital to my life. My brothers keep me strong, focused on what is important, and are there to help when I struggle. This, combined with the grace of the sacraments and prayer, I have been able to keep my heart steadfast on the Lord. It is a threefold plan: receive the sacraments, pray, and be active in the community. This allows me to truly be able to say 'Firmum Est Cor Meum'."

Rev. Mr. William Banowsky, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Class of 2019 6

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What is one practice that helps sustain your Firmum Est in the face of trials?

“Liturgical, choral, and devotional singing have long been a mainstay for me when it comes to keeping a heart primed and ready to praise the Lord. Chant, polyphony, and the occasional bluegrass Gospel hymn always help to turn my heart to God and to strengthen me in His continued service.”

Rev. Mitchell Brown, Diocese of Gallup, Class of 2018

“Having time in silence is essential for my daily life. I usually find this best in a chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament. With so many other things to worry about, the silence allows me to step back, refocus, and remember to be present with the Lord.

Through this silence my heart is steadfast.”

James O’Neil, Diocese of Lincoln, Class of 2021

“My daily examen helps sustain my Firmum Est. At the end of each day, it helps me see where God has been present.

With this knowledge, I am able proceed into the next day with the firm belief that Christ is present in the things I do and the people I meet. I can grow in thankfulness for all the good things that God has given me and grow in contrition for my own sinfulness.”

“The Holy Eucharist, source and summit of the Christian life, is the central and high point of my day. The grace received from the daily sacrifice brings some sense to the difficulties and chaos of my day. In addition to the Holy Mass, having the distinct privilege of experiencing Our Eucharistic Lord present for our prayer has helped sustain my Firmum Est.”

Bijoy Joseph, Archdiocese of Sydney, Class of 2022

Stephen Delia Jr., Diocese of Paterson, Class of 2022

© iStockphoto

VOICES OF NAC

The College’s motto comes from Psalm 107 of the Pian Psalter (a Latin version of the Psalms approved by Pope Pius XII). It begin with Firmum Est Cor Meum (My Heart is Steadfast), and it hopefully concludes, “We will triumph with the help of God, who will trample down our foes.”

New Faculty Sr. Mary Patrice Ahearn, RSM

Sr. Mary Patrice joins the College as the Director of Counseling Services, bringing with her several years of experience in the field of psychology and previous work as her apostolate for the Religious Sisters of Mercy. After joining the religious sisters in August of 2003, Sr. Mary Patrice was a house counselor and consultant at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska. She completed her PsyD at the Institute for Psychological Sciences in Arlington in 2013. Sr. Mary has also worked as a clinical psychologist at the Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center in Alma, Michigan. Just before beginning her time in Rome, she was a Lecturer in Applied Psychology and Counselling at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, Australia.

Fr. Joseph Kelly

Fr. Joseph Kelly, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, serves as the Spiritual Director for the Casa Santa Maria, as well as an adjunct spiritual director on the Gianicolo. He holds his doctorate of Ministry in Spiritual Direction from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Indiana. From 1988-1995, he held the position of Spiritual Director at St. Joseph Seminary in the Archdiocese of New York.

From 1995-2011, he was the pastor at St. Anthony Church in the Bronx. From 2011-2017, he was also the Spiritual Director at the Cathedral Seminary House of Formation. From 1995 until his time here at the College, he served at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Nebraska as a founding board member and spiritual director for seminarian-directed retreats.

During his time there he was responsible for creating the Summer Training Program for Seminary Spiritual Directors.

Fr. Edward Linton, OSB

Fr. Edward Linton, OSB, comes to the College as the Director of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education (ICTE) and as a formation adviser. Ordained in 1991, he completed multiple degrees at St. Meinrad College before taking a M.A. in English Literature from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University. His work has ranged from serving as a chaplain to a girls high school and as a pastor in the Archdiocese of Chicago to the Director of the St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, and the Director of the International Benedictine Formation at the Badia Primaziale di Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where he has been since 2015. He is passionate about preaching, pastoral ministry, and helping seminarians realize their potential in service to the Gospel.

Fr. Christopher Mahar

Father Christopher Mahar, a priest of the Diocese of Providence, is serving as an adjunct spiritual director for the college. He completed his S.T.B. from the Gregorian University in 2003, his S.T.L. in Theological Ethic from the Catholic University of Louvain in 2010, and, from the same university in 2016, a Ph.D. in combination with an S.T.D. in Theological Ethics.

Ordained a priest in 2004, he served as a parochial vicar in two parishes. In 2008 he was appointed Vice Rector of the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium where he served until 2011 when he was appointed Rector of the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence. In 2013 he was also appointed Director of Ongoing Formation of Priests.

He taught at Providence College and advised Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence until 2017. In 2017 he

served at the Holy See’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, and the following year was appointed to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development.

Sr. Maria Silva, OP

Sr. Maria Silva, OP, joins the College as a librarian. Sister was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Prior to her entering the convent she was the Chief Financial Officer of three car dealerships in New York. Sister has a degree in Elementary Education and is currently studying for her Masters in Theological Studies. From 2012-2014, she lived in Texas where she helped advance development for her community, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. She also taught middle school children in Phoenix, AZ and Sacramento, CA from 2015 to 2018. She is delighted to be able to serve here at the College.

Nicholas Will

Nicholas Will joins the College as the Director of Liturgical Music, where he oversees all aspects of liturgical music, serves as principal organist, and directs the Seminary Choir. He is currently on a leave of absence as Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Sacred Music Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville. A graduate of Duquesne University and the conservatory of the Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University, Nicholas has held parish and cathedral appointments and has performed widely throughout the eastern United States and Europe as a soloist and accompanist. His debut recording, Laudato Si: In the Spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, a collaborative effort with singers Andrey Nemzer and Charlene Canty and composer Eli Tamar, was released to critical acclaim in April 2016.

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The Doctor Is In: Sister Mary Patrice Ahearn, RSM, begins offering her counsel at the College this year.

A Sister’s Counsel at the Seminary S E T H L E M A I R E ’ 2 1 , D I O C E S E O F L A FAY E T T E

Sister Mary Patrice Ahearn, RSM, Psy.D., joins the college this year as the House Counselor.

Roman Echoes put her on the proverbial couch to learn a little more about what led her to counseling, the convent, and to our seminary.

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Sister, can you give me a little You’ve been with the Religious background about yourself; Sisters of Mercy since 2003. where you’re from, your family? How did you come to discern religious life, and specifically, I am from Hammond, Indiana. the Religious Sisters of Mercy?

Hammond is in the Diocese of Gary and the area is affectionately called "the Region" because of the location and population. I lived there until I went away to college on the East Coast. I am the third of five children and have all brothers. My brothers are all married and between them I have 21 nieces and nephews so far!

I will give you the condensed version!

I started to think God might be calling me to religious life in my early twenties, but that is not what I had envisioned for my life, so it took me some time to be open to the idea. I was working at Magdalen College and had organized a retreat for young women and it was recommended that I invite two

of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. I was impressed by the fact that they helped us shovel snow (this was New Hampshire in February) and simply "jumped into" things with us. After the retreat I asked them to tell us about their community. When they said they "served the Church,” I recall thinking, "that is exactly what I want to do!" All the searching and wondering about my future suddenly came to a moment of realization. It was not easy from that point forward, but I knew what God wanted and what I needed to do. I entered our community six months later. God has been very good to me!

opportunity to serve and help alleviate struggles and help others to come to greater freedom. My work can also be confronting at times when I see myself in others, but even this can be a grace offered by God for my own conversion.

My work often leads me to prayer. I am blessed because I truly enjoy my work in the apostolate and find it meaningful.

Your order asked you to pursue a degree in psychology. and this seems to have made a huge impact on how you exercise your charism as a religious sister. What has this career specifically taught you in your own spiritual life?

God really does use everything in our lives! Growing up with all brothers was simply a part of life for me in the sense that I did not know anything else. I can see now there was a certain formation that took place. My dad was quite good about making sure I was raised differently than my brothers! I love my brothers very much and am grateful for each of them. Of course, I always wanted a sister (when I entered religious life, my mother reminded me of this and told me that I got what I asked for!), but always had good female friends. I would say that having all brothers has allowed me to have a certain ease in this community and in working with the men.

Our charism is mercy, particularly focused on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Along with vows of chastity, poverty and obedience we profess a fourth vow of service to the poor, sick and ignorant. Following our charism and vow of service to the Church, I was asked to study psychology.

I had no idea what that would mean.

My education has allowed me to participate in our charism specifically through several of the spiritual works of mercy. In regards to my own spiritual life, I have found that if I am being obedient to what I have been asked to do by my superior, there are many graces that come. Furthermore, in my line of work, one is often faced with the reality of our fallen human nature, sin and suffering, but also a great

Sister, after having lived with four brothers of your own, how has the experience as a counselor for a seminary community been for you, living among a community of brothers?

You’ve done work in the US, in Australia, and now in Italy. What have you looked forward to the most about being assigned here in Rome?

Well, it is Rome! Our community here in Rome is great and I was excited to be here with them. I never thought I would be assigned here so that was

quite surprising. At times I still say, "I live in Rome!" It is a privilege to be in the heart of the Church and all that entails. I love being where the early Christians lived and many died and being able to visit the different churches and holy sites. As I said earlier, visiting places outside of Rome and getting to know the Italians and their culture has been great, and let me not forget to mention the delicious food. Living in a historically Catholic country has been a blessing and has strengthened my own faith. I do wish my Italian was better so I could communicate more, but as they say, “piano, piano!”

Your work must keep you busy, but what do you enjoy doing outside of your work? Do you have any personal hobbies or interests that you would like to share?

Honestly, I enjoy being with my Sisters and getting to know those around me.

In my community we have a good time together in most things we do and support and encourage one another.

I am pretty simple in this regard!

However, I do enjoy outdoor activities.

Being in Rome, it has been great to travel outside of the city to visit holy places and little towns and experience the people, culture and history. I am fascinated by ancient sites and enjoy learning the history of different areas. If I can ever get to the ocean, I love being by water and everything associated with it. I do like to read and cook for others (most of the time!) and I really love flowers. Not just their beauty, but the colors and what that means in terms of the kinds of insects they attract for pollination, how they pollinate, and so on; it is totally fascinating to me! n ROMAN ECHOES 2018 • VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

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One Year Anniversary of Historic World Congress: "Child Dignity in the Digital World" REV. MR. JOSEPH SIGUR ’19, DIOCESE OF BEAUMONT

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s I write this article, I mark the one year since helping facilitate the "Child Dignity in the Digital World" conference held at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The conference brought together religious leaders, government officials from around the world, leading tech corporations (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), mental and medical health care providers, law enforcement, and dozens of non-profit organizations—all seeking to end the sexual exploitation of children in every form in our digital age.

In these days in which the incredible damage done to the lives of so many innocent victims of sexual abuse is on the minds and hearts of many faithful Catholics, it is good—even necessary—to recall the concrete steps many in the Church have taken to prevent the abuse of minors.

The conference addressed the new problems and potential avenues of sexual exploitation which have arisen in recent years with the dawn of the Digital Age: online sex trafficking, the plague of internet pornography and its effects on the developing brains of children, and the dawn of international internet servers which enable the dissemination of child pornography—to name a few.

Seminarians from the Pontifical North American College served as note-takers for the discussion groups held during the conference that brought together

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Student note-takers from the College gather for a photo outside of the Apostolic Palace after their audience with Pope Francis last October.

leaders from different fields. This gave us the opportunity to meet some of the leading academics and officials who are try to protect the dignity of children in the modern world. In my own discussion group were a moral theologian from one of the Roman pontifical universities, several leaders of global non-profit organizations, an official of the American Department of Justice who has prosecuted numerous offenders (especially online traffickers), a top UN official who works internationally to prevent the abuse of children and dissemination of child pornography, a Ukrainian government official, and a member of the European parliament present at the Lanzarote Convention. The purpose of these discussion groups was to facilitate conversation among professionals from various 'sectors' of society, each working in their own

field to end the scourge of child abuse in the 'Digital World.'

We concluded with a declaration on behalf of the participants called the "Declaration of Rome," which was presented to the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Its solutions ranged from taking steps to protect children from “the detrimental impact of pornography” to addressing the “dark side” of technological advancements.

Unfortunately, the positive work of congresses such as this one has largely been overshadowed by continual revelations of sexual misconduct both within and outside of the Church. On this first anniversary of the Declaration of Rome, however, it is good for us to remember also the tireless efforts of so many to end child abuse in our parishes, our local communities, and also in the 'Digital World.' n

Awakening the Apathetic of Heart TO M R O B E RTS O N ’ 2 1 , A R C H D I O C E S E O F WA S H I N GTO N

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ecause of my Irish roots, I could hardly have chosen a summer apostolate other than a parish assignment in Ireland. My time in Cork City brought with it many treasured experiences, but when it was all said and done what I was most left with was a sobering encounter with the Irish faithful as they are today. Because, when you look at the facts in in the Irish Church today, things seem pretty bleak.

True, the great majority of the Irish population still identifies as Catholic; they are still baptized; and they still go to Catholic schools.

But recently, we have also seen the majority, especially within the younger generations, vote in favor of a referendum that directly opposes Catholic moral teachings. And, the Irish Church is on the verge of a massive priest shortage, while the number of incoming vocations is at an all-time low. Despite these formidable barriers, my general experience was that the Irish people were not against the Church. They just seemed to not feel like it was worth any personal investment.

The Catholic faith is, in a special way, too deeply planted in Ireland for it to be totally rejected. In fact, families would still be offended if their child was not able to be baptized in the Church, even if they knew fully well that the child might never enter into the Church again. It seems that there are many reasons for this great separation

of identity and faith. Answers will range anywhere from scandal, to inaction, to modernity, to government influences on Catholic education and health care. In the end what we are left with is an extreme example of the one of the biggest challenges that our Church has been facing around the world. This is an apathy of the heart.

The pilgrimage begins with a true sense of “emptiness,” but it ends with a spirit full of joy and gratitude.

I could see this in the people that we encountered in hospital ministry.

The loved ones of those who were hospitalized seemed to know the

A visit to the Hill of Slane area, where the faithful pray that St. Patrick's intercession will keep the paschal fire burning brightly.

prayers we offered together, but they had little desire to continue them once the priest left the room. Seeing this allowed me to arrive at a sincere gratitude for some of the strengths of the Church in the United States where, unlike in Ireland, Catholicism is not the norm, and therefore the faithful are often impelled to invest themselves in supporting their parishes.

But the situation is not so bleak that hope cannot be found. Cork is a beautiful city and I really enjoyed my time getting to know the denizens. One of the most memorable experiences was participating in the traditional Lough Derg Pilgrimage. This pilgrimage, also known as St. Patrick’s Purgatory, consists of three days of fasting, a couple of days without sleep, and many prayers on a cold and rainy island. It may not seem appealing to be barefoot the whole time or to have small meals of dry toast and tea, but there is a reason that so many people have been going to this island for 1,500 years. I did not go to this island searching for God. However, I did find just how much I need God in my life, every single day.

The pilgrimage begins with a true sense of “emptiness,” but it ends with a spirit full of joy and gratitude. One Irish woman who was on the pilgrimage with us had gone annually for thirty-eight years. When asked why, she responded, “it’s the one thing that I can do; it’s the one time of the year when I can be Catholic and really pray for my family.” n

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Stones in the Upbuilding of the Church R E V. M R . G R EG O RY C RA N E ‘ 1 9, D I O C E S E O F B I S M A R C K

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n light of the abuse scandal in the US Church, the NAC community looks to strengthen devotion to Christ, prayer, and priestly fraternity

This summer wherever we were, the abuse scandal in the Church in the US affected us. Reading the news was often disheartening as we came to see that some men in whom we had put our trust had done really evil things.

I don’t think many people would be too surprised if this scandal shook seminarians even to the point of leaving seminary. Why would anyone take a promise of obedience to men who could be so flawed?

Yet, this past September 27th, 39 of my classmates and I humbly and confidently laid down on the stone floor of St. Peter’s and invoking the intercession of the Rock on whom the Church was built, were ordained deacons. We knelt before Cardinal DiNardo and faithfully promised obedience to our ordinaries, not because we put our faith in men, but because we put our faith in God. Our resolve to continue to respond enthusiastically to the call to the priesthood was strengthened in early September with Father Harman’s Rector’s Conference in which he

The stones of the St. Francis mosaic in the College's Assumption Chapel help call to mind God's continual demand of his saints: "Rebuild my Church."

addressed the abuse crisis and the right way forward for us as seminarians.

The right way forward, he insisted, was with faith in Christ. After all, why would any man become a priest today, given the suspicion that might be cast upon him simply because he wears a Roman collar. “Why would we subject ourselves to this scrutiny,” Father Harman asked. “Why would we take up the task when some of those who have gone before us have let us down, undermined our credibility and hurt those they were supposed

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to serve. I’ll tell you why. Because he who knew us before he formed us in the womb, who alone can heal and save, who alone shepherds, who is with us always, calls weak sons to be stones in his building up of the Church. And his call is trustworthy.”

Father did not downplay the seriousness of the sins committed by members of the clergy, those, “to whom we are supposed to look for an example of Christ,” but who instead betrayed the trust, destroyed the innocence and deeply harmed some members of the flock. Yet for us as seminarians, training to be future priests, what is asked of us is to live in the present with integrity. “All we can do is live with integrity today, and the today which is tomorrow, until the Lord comes to greet us and take us to himself.”

Indeed, “The message of salvation,” Father said, “is not that we are expected to perfectly model Christ in our own power, but to invite him into every nook and cranny and every place where he is lacking and needed.” We are called to be honest with Christ and the Church about who we really are, and then trust God to transform us and make us new.

Though the sins of some have caused great pain, myself and my fellow seminarians have great hope for the future. We want to be Saints. We want God to use us as his instruments in the upbuilding of the Kingdom.

And our hope that this can happen is not in vain, for the Church ultimately doesn’t rest in the hands of men, but in the hands of God. n

The Beginning of the End: The Lasts of Fifth Year R E V. M I TC H E L L B R OW N ’ 1 8, D I O C E S E O F GA L LU P

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he month of September at the College has always had a surreal feeling for me. Time is in an odd sort of stand-still as everyone works through the various pastoral workshops. The buzz of the house increases as the diaconate ordination comes and goes. With that done, however, the bubble pops, and the impending reality of a new year at the university hits just “like a ten-pound catfish upside the head,” as one country song puts it.

With classes begun, a somewhat normal schedule resumes, only to be interrupted immediately by the Opening Banquet. Now, even though this happens each year and we all expect it, what I did not expect was the sudden realization I had at the beginning of the banquet that this was one of the “first lasts” of many to come this year. For this will be my last year at the College, my last year in a seminary environment, my last first day of school, and with the passing of each day here this year, many more “lasts” will take place. Eventually, I will hear St. Peter’s bells chime for the last time. I will say Mass a final time in this city purpled by the blood of the martyrs. I will say good-bye to friends old and new for the last time as a resident of this College. And even if I someday return to this place, it will not be the same. These really are the “end times,” in a manner of speaking.

Now lest this become too apocalyptic, I should point out that while these

Grant Dvorak '22 (Bismarck) offers the traditional toast on behalf of the new man class.

realizations do bring nostalgia as well as some thoughts about what is to come when I return home, they at the same time bring a great deal of gratitude and joy for what God has done here in Rome over the last four years: the prayers prayed, friends made, books read, and trips taken. They also remind me that this year is neither to be taken for granted nor simply seen as some sort of trifle. It is rather to be taken for what it is: yet another way through which God will show Himself to me and draw me to Himself, now as His priest, and that through firsts, lasts, or somewhere-in-the-middles.

As Grant Dvorak ’22 (Bismarck) reminded us at the Opening Banquet, we are all told innumerable times in our first year here to take things piano piano—slowly, even step-by-step—and this certainly pertains to my last year here as well. I hope to keep this in mind throughout the year. That way, piano piano, I can soak up the graces that remain to be harvested and enjoy this last year in such a privileged setting, especially as I continue to learn what it is to be a priest of Jesus Christ.

May God, Who began such good works four years ago, bring it to fulfillment now in the last. Amen. n

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Snapshots

The Morrison family is full of smiles as they reunite with their two seminarians: at center left, Rev. Mr. James Morrison '19 (Washington), and center right, Nicholas Morrison '21 (Washington). On the left, they are flanked by Fr. Joshua Rodrigue '02 F'17 (Houma-Thibodaux).

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The Class of '19 fully prostrates during the Litany of the Saints as part of the ordination liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica.

The New Men lift up their voices in praise to God with the help of Mr. Nicholas Will, the new director of liturgical music at the College.

The New Men are led through the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran during the early orientation program.

Alessandro Calderoni Ortiz '21 (Tulsa) smiles encouragingly as the New Men finish up an Italian language placement exam.

The Pontifical North American College

Center: Surrounded by ecstatic teammates, New Man Zachary Jones '22 (Sioux City) celebrates a walk-off home run to clinch a victory over the second year team.

Taking his first steps at the College, New Man Josh Nehnevaj '22 (Seattle) is welcomed by the Vice Rector with the orientation capo, Kyle Poje '21 (Seattle) standing by.

Front and center: Mitchel Roman '19 (Gaylord) takes his oath in preparation for ordination to the transitional diaconate.

Family and friends of the ordinandi assemble together in the Immaculate Conception Chapel at the College to begin Ordination Week in worship.

The College sings "Immaculate Mary" to Our Lady on the eve of the ordinations as part of the community prayer vigil.

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Roman Masses of Thanksgiving 6

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eing ordained to the diaconate means moving that much closer to the altar where the priest celebrates Mass, and to the ambo where a deacon may finally proclaim the Gospel and expound upon it in the homily. Being ordained in Rome brings with it the additional blessing of serving as a deacon in ancient churches that are home to countless saints and artistic treasures. Often, a NAC deacon will choose to have his first "Thanksgiving Mass� in a church to which he has formed a particular connection during his time at the College. He then asks a priest who has been significant to his vocation to say the Mass. It is attended by brother seminarians, and by family and friends who can make the journey to Rome.

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ORDAINED IN ROME

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CHURCH FOR MASS OF THANKSGIVING

1. Martin Amaro Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano (Tomba di Pietro) 2. Will Banowsky Maria in Montserrato degli Spagnoli 3. Brad Berhorst Santa Maria dell'Anima 4. Christopher Boyle Santa Maria della Vittoria 5. Michael Buck Chapel of Saint Peter Chanel (Domus Australia) 6. Stephen Buting Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura 7. John Calabro Motherhouse of the Baptistines 8. Michael Carlson San Lorenzo in Damaso 9. Gregory Crane Sant'Agostino 10. Joseph Cwik Santi Giovanni e Paolo 11. Ralph D'Elia III Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore 12. James Downey The North American College 13. Matthew Faucett San Giorgio in Velabro 14. Scott Foley Sant'Andrea delle Fratte 15. John Gancarz Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura 16 Nicholas Ginnetti Sant'Agnese in Agone 17. Brandon Guenther Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano (Tomba di Pietro) 18. Shane Hewson Santa Maria in Montserrato degli Spagnoli 19. Ethan Hokamp San Lorenzo in Panisperna 20. Christian Huebner Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 21. Jerome Krug Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci 22. Chan Lee San Giovanni dei Fiorentini 23. Larry Machado Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi 24. James Morrison Dodici Apostoli 25. Ryan Muldoon Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi 26. W. Alexandre Nevitt IV San Luigi dei Francesi 27. Benjamin Petty San Giorgio in Velabro 28. Robert Phillips San Clemente 29. Alfredo Porras Santa Maria in Montserrato degli Spagnoli 30. Mitchel Roman Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova) 31. Nathan Rueb Sant'Agostino 32. Thomas Scherer Sant'Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso 33. Andrew Schwenka Sant'Andrea delle Fratte 34. Joseph Sigur San Clemente 35. Spenser St. Louis San Luigi dei Francesi 36. Austin Steffen Sant'Agostino 37. Joseph Squillacioti Chiesa del Gesù 38. Alexander Turpin Jr. Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura 39. Luke Wilgenbusch Sant'Apollinare 40. Brandon Wolf Duomo di Orvieto (Not on Map)

ORDAINED AT HOME

Scott Allen Richard Aubol Andrew Auer Rhodes Bolster Michael Caraway Kevin Chalifoux Stephen Cieslak Justin Gough Edouard Guiloux John Jang Tyler Johnson William Nyce David Wheeler Michael Nguyen

Kyle O'Connor Stephen Schumacher

St. Martin de Porres, Yorba Linda, CA St. Henry in Monticello, MN St. Francis of Assisi in St. Louis, MO St Mary of the Seven Sorrows in Nashville, TN St. Henry Catholic Church in Lake Charles, LA Cathedral of St. Joseph in Burlington, VT St. Rose of Lima in Portland, OR Immaculate Heart of Mary in Towson, MD St. William of York in Stafford, VA All Saints in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia St. Joseph in Chehalis, WA. St Veronica Catholic Church Chantilly, VA St. Ann Mission in Manchester, Kentucky Christ Our Savior in Santa Ana, CA and Santa Clara de Asis in Yorba Linda, CA St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, VA Mary, Queen of Peace Church in St. Louis, MO ROMAN ECHOES 2018 • VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

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Embracing the

Promises

REFLECTIONS ON THE THREE DIACONAL PROMISES

Are You Resolved...to Remain Celibate for the sake of the Kingdom?

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R E V. M R . L A R RY M AC H A D O ’ 1 9, D I O C E S E O F STO C K TO N

n the day of our ordination to the diaconate, His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, asked the ordinandi with regard to celibacy, “Do you resolve to keep forever this commitment as a sign of your dedication to Christ the Lord for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, in the service of God and man?” In responding “I do,” we affirmed that celibacy is and will continue to be for us a sign of our total consecration and dedication to Jesus.

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Following these words we prostrated ourselves on the floor of St. Peter’s Basilica as a gesture of that complete surrender to God: offering ourselves an oblation to Christ who loved us first and draws us into his priesthood, and as a supplication for the prayers of the Church. We love Christ in return “with an undivided heart,” and imitate Jesus who was also a celibate man.

Christ’s perfect chastity offers us the model for living our own vocation and configuring our lives to Jesus through this radical expression of love.

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While the promise of celibacy is a consecration to Christ, it is also an act of love offered for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. We imitate Christ not only in his celibacy, but also in his mystical espousal to his bride, the Church. Jesus is the Head of the Church for whom he came to serve and to freely offer his life. We, too, offer our lives for service in the Church. As St. John Paul II wrote in Pastores Dabo Vobis, “the Church, as the Spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total

above: His Eminence Daniel Cardinal Dinardo (Archbishop of Galveston-Houston) is flanked by concelebranting bishops, Fr. Peter Harman, and forty new deacons following the ordination Mass.

and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her Head and Spouse loved her. Priestly celibacy, then, is the gift of self ‘in’ and ‘with’ Christ ‘to’ his Church and expresses the priest's service to the Church in and with the Lord.”

Our promise of celibacy orients us towards others to be effective ministers of the Gospel, so all may come to know Jesus Christ. The gift of celibacy supports us in saving souls and building up the Kingdom of God. We are called to a total and generous love of Jesus who impels each of us to communion, vitalizing our pastoral charity and zeal for our neighbor whom we will serve.

Through our celibacy our pastoral ministry can become spiritually fruitful. Though we have offered to Jesus the joys of married and family life, we are nonetheless called to share in the spiritual fatherhood and fruitfulness of God.

Deacon candidates vest in the sacristy at St. Peter's Basilica prior to their ordination this September.

Considering the many lives that God will touch through us by administering the sacraments, preaching, and spiritual counsel—we joyfully give thanks to

God for the gift of his priesthood and the gift of celibacy given to us for the building up of his Kingdom. n

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Are You Resolved to Maintain and Deepen a Spirit of Prayer...?

REV. MR. DAVID WHEELER ’19, DIOCESE OF LEXINGTON

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he second promises made by diaconal-candidates points to the Psalter as the primary means by which every deacon fulfills his commitment to deepen the spirit of prayer on behalf of both the faithful and the whole world. It is not a promise to be taken lightly. The life of a deacon is one that is tangibly different than the life he has led up to the day of ordination as a man in formation.

It marks the end of the transition from discerning the vocation that God planned and prepared from the beginning of time, to representing and serving Christ's mystical body, the Church.

The office to which the deacon is ordained is one of service, and this can only be sustained and fruitful when firmly rooted in a personal relationship with God that is dependent on prayer. A merely generic promise to deepens one’s prayer life might seem ill-defined and intimidating. For this reason the Church in her motherly wisdom gives the Liturgy of the Hours as the mode of prayer by which the ordained minister must build his life of prayer.

As seminarians, praying the breviary is highly encouraged, but at ordination it is not a personal act, but one done with and for the people of God as an ordained minister. It also embraces the whole Church because the very structure of the Liturgy of the Hours is meant to incorporate more than just the person praying. The psalms and canticles which form the core of the Liturgy of the Hours express the trust and dependence on the Lord that is shared by every believer, but the breadth of these prayers are wider still.

With parents rejoicing in the gift of life, there is joy; with those mourning the loss of a loved-one, there is sadness; with those in the darkness of doubt and separation from God who cannot pray for themselves, the plea of the psalmist provides the timeless words. Even if the priest does not feel each of these sentiments in the moment, there is someone in the Body of Christ who does. They may not have joined their needs to the ancient entreaties offered up first by the Jews and no doubt daily by Jesus and His mother themselves. This is our graced task.

Deacon Joseph Cwik '19 (Washington) prays the Office of Readings on the morning of his ordination.

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It is the privilege of the deacon and priest to take all these prayers and lift them up in the presence of God in the name of the Church. For all those whose vocations make it difficult for them to find dedicated time to pray, or do not even yet know how to pray, God provides those whose vocation is prayer. Like every vocation, the responsibilities of this calling are also the means for sanctification. There is confidence that comes from knowing that by faithfully reciting the Liturgy of the Hours we are always deepening our own spiritual life and building up the whole Body of Christ. n

Do You Promise Respect and Obedience...?

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R E V. M R . J O H N C A L A B R O, D I O C E S E O F PAT E R S O N

uring my ordination to the diaconate with thirty-nine of my classmates I experienced something unexpected. I knew that the ordination would be a powerful experience made up of ebbs and flows of emotion that revealed the divine. But there was one moment that struck me as particularly different and yet full of meaning. As I knelt in front of Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and promised obedience to my ordinary, I realized that I felt elated.

This was quite different from the sobriety and seriousness I had expected.

Like many of you, I have been struggling with the concept of obedience recently. With the scandalous, shocking, and evil behavior of some in the hierarchy, I was filled with questions about what obedience means. Would I be promising silence, or to put on a smiling face to hide what was wrong? But it is clear that this is not what Christ calls us to when the Church asks us to promise obedience.

God has been using my personal experiences to gradually cultivate in me an understanding of obedience. In particular, I recall my first year in theologate here at the College. I was having a tough time transitioning and some other difficulties that year compounded my problems. While all this was brewing, I was blessed to be able to share everything with a newly-reconnected friend of mine. We had both attended Seton Hall as undergraduates, lost contact, and then met again in Rome while he was finishing a degree in Canon Law. My friend said that continuing studies was not his first idea, especially after having spent some rewarding time in parish ministry. But he had committed himself to being generous in responding to God. So, he found himself at peace after being sent to Rome for further studies.

I have thought a long time about that attitude of generosity.

For me, it reveals much about the Christian understanding of obedience. When I had a secular job, I was obedient to my boss because I desired a paycheck. In grade school, I was obedient because that was the expectation.

That sort of obedience just does not make sense in

Deacon John Calabro '19 (Paterson) promises obedience to his diocesan bishop and his successors.

relation to a bishop. We can study in history and theology how and why God established the role of bishops. But in times like this when we are bogged down in doubts, sometimes a simple phrase can cut through the debris and reveal some clarity. As it has been said, “you can’t love the King and hate His kingdom.” This has been powerful and clarifying for me. Bishops are a part of the divine plan. Therefore, our respect and obedience means participation in that divine plan.

In this, there is something that is all-encompassing.

Building up the Kingdom cannot be just one thing that a priest does, like a hobby or a role he plays. It must be part of who the priest is. Participation in the divine plan must involve the whole life of the priest. This is why my friend’s example continues to influence me. The generosity my friend spoke of was his attempt to respond to God with his whole life. To be generously obedient requires us to be comprehensive in our response. While we promise obedience specifically to our own bishop, we know that we also must be obedient to the Truth, to Scripture, to Divine and Ecclesiastical Law. We know that this obedience can never mean collusion in wrongdoing. It means a joyful and generous response to God: to love Him who has first loved us. n ROMAN ECHOES 2018 • VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

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The hanging images of Saints Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI joined the statues of the colonnade in overlooking the crowds that gathered for the canonization Mass on October 14th.

In The Company of the Saints

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OS C A R M A R Q I N A R O M E R O ’ 2 2 , D I O C E S E O F SA LT L A K E C I T Y

he Italians have a special name for the feast day of a saint someone shares a name with. This onomastico can be just as much of a celebration as a birthday.

I now have one more feast day to remember—March 24th, the date of Oscar Romero’s martyrdom and heavenly birthday.

Among the many blessed opportunities received in my first three months at the North American College, I think attending the canonization mass of Saints Oscar Romero, Pope Paul VI, and five other saints will be one that remains clearly impressed my mind.

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After witnessing one of the most solemn moments the Church can offer, St. Peter’s Square has been forever changed for me. The fact is that walking through Vatican City on a regular basis to run errands can dull the senses to the magnificence of the place.

But when one is arriving in the square with tens of thousands of pilgrims while the speakers blast prelude hymns, the Square turns into a place of worship.

After the steps of the Basilica become a sanctuary with hundreds of priests and bishops, the columns, walls, and statues on the façade seemed enormous, and I suddenly felt quite small. In

• • • •

this newfound environment, I finally felt the two arms of the colonnade embracing me and the great mass of faithful, ushering us more deeply into the Church. In not only physical but also spiritual proximity to each other, we began praying the Rosary as it was led in Latin over the speakers. Then the canonization rite began with a hymn to the Holy Spirit.

The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints began petitioning the Holy Father to acknowledge the new saints. It was during the descriptions of the saints’ heroic lives that I experienced another blessing found most abundantly in Rome - the

ability to connect intimately with saints.

Rome already holds more saints than can be numbered, but relics of each of the new saints were brought to this Mass for the Pope to incense.

Saints are the golden links in the tradition of the Church and it is rare to find one without similarly holy men and women linked to them at the beginning and end of their earthly pilgrimages. Since Pope Saint Paul VI was the one who made Oscar Romero a bishop, and even beatified three of the others being canonized that day, it was easy to imagine the pope himself being transformed by the lives of previous saints. Sanctity tends to beget sanctity. The saints inspired each other and now become accessible to me in their public cult. In the same way, I have the power to inspire others to live a more virtuous life by my example, or by simply inspiring others to invoke a particular saint.

Today, I especially encourage you to invoke St. Oscar Romero, not because he’s my namesake, but because he knew his faith and brought it to the peripheries in a way that persuaded people to connect to God despite the desperation of their situation. Saint Oscar Romero had an ear for both Christ and his community. I am thankful for the opportunity to follow Romero to Rome, from where his example of sanctity will reach many more than he ever could have known. n

Oscar Marqina Romero ’22 (Salt Lake City) treasures the moment shortly before the canonization of seven new saints by Pope Francis.

Re-Echoes: Pope (St.) Paul VI Visits the College On February 22 of 1970 the Holy Father visited the College to offer his paternal encouragement to all the seminarians in formation. His words have been edited for length.

Your being here in Rome is neither accidental nor unimportant. It is not pure coincidence. Already you must have meditated on it many times, with serious and profound reflection. It is something deliberately willed for your spiritual formation; for your preparation for a priestly ministry; for a service, yet to come, to the Church and to your fellow citizens. It is something very important from the pedagogical and ecclesial point of view.

What is the reason for this importance? We believe that it comes principally from the effects that your stay in Rome can have in your hearts. The factor of place is of great importance. […] It is a lesson in history, in places, in art, in doctrine (and you are here precisely with the purpose to study). Your stay in Rome is a lesson in that simple but complex organism, called the Roman Curia, which serves and directs the Church. It is that instrument needed by the Pope for the fulfillment of His mission. In all of this there is nothing new or secret for you. The heart, physical and visible as it were, is surely very instructive and interesting.

But this is not all. Even a tourist, even a stranger can be interested in this particular aspect. But a member of the Church and especially a cleric sees something more on the Roman scene. He sees the evident traces, here in Rome, of those famous “marks” of the Catholic Church which reveal a wonderful design already showing forth the action of God. Here the unity and catholicity of the Church are seen more clearly than elsewhere; here the apostolic nature of the Church is evident in its marvelous and coherent tradition, and in the full exercise of those apostolic powers that come from Christ. Here the holiness of the Church shines forth in the number of her sons and daughters who witnessed by their life or by their death to the faith of Christ. Here there is seen the finality of her mission which is her reason for being: to save humanity by means of the word and the grace and imitation of Christ. […]

You are sons of a great People, young and generous, and with the talent proper to you Nation, you are in an excellent position to perceive and discern this superior vision of God’s plan for the world, and thus to accept this Christian vocation to bring salvation and happiness to humanity. n ROMAN ECHOES 2018 • VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

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On October 3rd in the Synod Hall, Pope Francis addressed participants of the 2018 Synod on Young People.

Hopes for the Synod

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R E V. M R . C H R I ST I A N H U E B N E R ’ 1 9, A R C H D I O C E S E O F WA S H I N GTO N

long with three hundred other young people from around the globe, I joined a “Pre-Synodal Meeting” in Rome last spring as part of the preparation for the Church’s recently completed “Synod on Youth.” Our gathering was a boisterous, sometimes frustrating, and messy process, a bit like I imagine the actual Synod was for the Fathers gathered this fall, but I left with a number of hopes for what the Synod could bring to the Church. As we reflect now on the Synod just past, here is a short wish-list for what might come of it:

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1. A New Catechesis.

Over lunch one afternoon, I had a chat with a national Catholic youth leader from a prosperous western country. It soon became clear that he had little understanding of the reasons for the Church’s basic teachings on the nature of marriage, and instead seemed eager to bring the Church “up to date” with the new bourgeois morality of our age. We had a friendly debate and parted ways, but I marvel now at the opportunity he represents. Here was an intelligent young man, willing to give tremendous amounts of time and energy to the service of the Church, and

• • • •

The love of Christ, burning radiantly in the soul of a saint from a very different time and place, had passed through the pen of a Norwegian writer and the hands of an American seminarian, and into the heart of a sister in the Lord from the most unexpected of places.

who may only need an intellectually respectable introduction to principles of the Christian lifestyle to truly become a force for evangelization that leverages the great wealth and opportunity his society affords him.

Hope number one, then, is that the Synod Fathers will return home to kickstart initiatives to reach young people like him, who need the light of truth to illumine their good will.

The Church didn’t invent the internet, but we may as well use it, and dwell in its cities. There was a widely held sense last spring that the moment was coming ripe for the Church to address this new frontier. My second hope on the heels of the Synod is that we seize the moment to occupy the land, and let Christian life flourish within this new kind of city.

2. Occupy the (Virtual) Land.

At the borders of the Promised Land, Moses preached to the children of Israel that they were about to enter into cities which they had not built, but which God would bestow on them for their delight and His glory. The same has been said of Peter and Paul arriving in Rome two thousand years ago—unbeknownst to Caesar, he had built an empire, which, watered with the blood of martyrdom, was to become the linguistic, cultural, and political vehicle for carrying the Gospel from Britain to Asia.

The empire of our day is in cyberspace.

At the Pre-Synodal Meeting, one of the most pressing topics of conversation was the role of technology in the lives of young people. Our cities today consist of communities banded together not by physical proximity, but by the common experiences of words, images, and sounds that, for better or for worse, shape our imaginations, intellects, tastes, and moral intuitions. If you want to know who someone is today, it isn’t enough to know where he grew up or where she went to school; you need to know in which regions of the internet he was formed.

Executive Director of Evangelization, Young Adult Ministry, and Chaplaincies for the Archdiocese of Washington, Jonathan Lewis (far left) takes a break to snap a quick picture with other participants during the Synod.

3. Go Global.

On the last day of the Pre-Synodal Meeting, one of my newfound friends came up to me in tears of gratitude.

She was from a society where the practice of the faith was restricted by a Muslim government, and had come to Rome in the hope of finding new ideas to nurture the faith of young people in her country. Many would be interested in religious life, she thought, but monasteries and convents were illegal.

Something about her story reminded me of the life of St. Angela Merici, foundress of the Ursuline Sisters. She

too was a woman who was not able to enter religious life in a typical way, and ended up finding a creative new path to consecrate her life to Christ. In a moment of inspiration, I passed along to my friend a copy of Sigrid Undset’s Stages on the Road, which includes a marvelous essay on the life of St. Angela.

When she found me the next day, my friend had stayed up the whole night reading and taking notes (which could be safely brought back into her home country). The love of Christ, burning radiantly in the soul of a saint from a very different time and place, had passed through the pen of a Norwegian writer and the hands of an American seminarian, and into the heart of a sister in the Lord from the most unexpected of places.

The Pre-Synodal Meeting, like much of the officially organized world today, was largely marked by the styles and interests of materially comfortable westerners like myself. The experiences of Catholics from other parts of the world did not fit neatly into our mindset, and so, in my observation, tended to be relegated to the sideline.

But not completely.

St. Paul teaches that if one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers, and if one part rejoices, the whole body rejoices. My third and final hope for the Synod is that the experiences of our brothers and sisters in more difficult circumstances will spark a renewed spirit of solidarity in Christ, in which we learn from and help one another on the road to eternal life—and that we not be too quick to assume who might be further down this road already. n

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Institute for Continuing Theological Education

All Roads Come From Rome: My Stop at the Casa O’Toole REV. EDWARD LINTON, O.S.B, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION

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any days I look out from the Casa O’Toole onto the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica and ask myself, “How did you get here?”

After all, Rome is a long way from Kentucky, where I was born and raised! I never dreamt of living in Rome nor working at the Pontifical North American College. As a Benedictine Monk with a solemn vow of stability to a monastery in Southern Indiana, the Janiculum Hill seems an odd place for me to work and pray.

So, I ask myself, “How did you get here,” and even, “Where are you headed?” As with so many others who come to this place, I can only answer by echoing Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who said to God, “I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end…But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.”

I suppose the road that has led me to the College began with my profession as a Benedictine Monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in 1986.

After receiving a Master of Divinity from Saint Meinrad School of Theology in 1991, I was ordained to the priesthood. Following ordination, I pursued a master’s

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degree in English Literature from Middlebury College in Vermont and began teaching at Saint Meinrad College. After completing a Ph.D. in Speech Communication at Southern Illinois University, my abbot asked me to accept pastoral responsibilities in Chicago, Illinois, where I spent twelve wonderful years as pastor of Saint James Parish. In 2014, I was asked to become Director of International Benedictine Formation at the Badia Primaziale di Sant’ Anselmo, the Benedictine headquarters here in Rome. In that position, I organized continuing education programs for Benedictine monks, nuns and oblates, work that prepared me well for my current role. I became the Director of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education (ICTE) in August.

Curiously, Ancient Romans didn’t say that all roads lead to Rome. The medieval theologian Allain de Lille proposed that idea when he wrote, “A thousand roads lead humanity forever to Rome.” Rather, as the 0-mile marker discovered in the Forum suggests, Rome was primarily understood as the origin of roads, not their destination.

It was from Rome that Pax Romana spread throughout the world.

Similarly, ICTE is not a destination… at least not a final destination. It is a place where seasoned priests stop

The short pathway from the Casa O'Toole leads through the porter's office to the Roman roads.

on the road and ask, “How did I get here,” and “Where I am going?”

Certainly, the opportunity to pray at the tombs of the martyrs and saints, especially Saints Peter and Paul, is a reason to arrive in Rome. Certainly, the opportunity to learn from Rome’s most respected scholars is a reason to arrive at the College. Certainly, the opportunity to enjoy priestly fraternity at the Casa O’Toole is a reason to arrive at ICTE. However, this does not make it a destination, but merely a stop.

Good priests are sent out renewed and refreshed from ICTE to continue proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. It is an honor to accompany them on this road! n

Economo’s Corner Bene facere

R E V. K E R RY A B B OT T, O F M CO N V. , I C T E ' 1 4

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imagine you will read this issue of Roman Echoes as we are contemplating the holy-day season from Thanksgiving Day through Advent to Christmas.

What a mystical time of wonder that fills our hearts with gratitude, expectation and peace.

I begin to write to you the day following the diaconal ordination of 40 of our brothers at St Peter’s Basilica by His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo on September 27th, 2018 and news of the death of a dear “friend of the College” the day prior. The juxtaposition of these events had a profound impact on me, and I would like to share some thoughts with you about them.

My friend, Philip R. O’Connor, was neither an alumnus of the College, nor a huge monetary benefactor to it.

I doubt that many of our men would even remember his visit to us with his wonderful wife Lynn back in October of 2017 for a “regular” pranzo in our refectory. But Phil was a firm-hearted believer in Jesus Christ with a love for the mission of the College, as well as of the men here and the women who help make our work possible, for whom he regularly prayed.

I first met Phil during the war in Iraq in 2007 when I was a military chaplain and he was an advisor to the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity. As a civilian and volunteer, he did not need to

subject himself to those days and weeks of rocket attacks, but he did, helping me and so many others to calm and care for those that were injured or killed in that poignant time, while helping to collect food and clothing for our suffering Iraqi neighbors.

In 2016 Phil heard that I was on the faculty of the College, and, as his work with Loyola University Chicago often brought him to Rome, he asked me if he could have a tour of the College—“a remarkable place that I have never been to, but heard so much about.”

After he and Lynn visited, he would often write to me enquiring about our seminarians, especially “my” class: those men that arrived with me in 2015, and as it happened were ordained to the diaconate the day following his transitus to the Lord.

Phil passed quietly to the Lord in his sleep, but his life was anything but quiet in his personal proclamation of his love of Jesus Christ, God’s people, His Church, our nation, his family, friends and even those he had not met but prayed for. He was a man of faith and action, of faith in action. He was not perfect, but he believed in the perfection of God. As we walked around the College that fall day in 2017, he was so effusive in expressing his wonder and gratitude for what he saw and heard. When we

stopped in the entryway and looked down at the inlaid marble of the College crest and motto, I remember him saying to me, and I paraphrase, … what you are about here is truly living in the expectation of peace, and helping these men of firm hearts to work toward nothing less…the real peace known nowhere else but in the heart of Jesus Christ.

Like so many of you, Phil lived his Catholic life proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in active and contemplative service to so many of his sisters and brothers, many of whom never knew his name.

He reminded me so often of his prayers for us as we shepherd our seminarians and student-priests—men of similar firm hearts—to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to a wounded, war-torn, discouraged, and cynical world.

Praying for the repose of Phil’s soul, for the comfort of the Holy Spirit upon Lynn, and for his family and friends, reminds me that what we are about here at the College is not our kingdom or creation, but God’s Kingdom and God’s creation. It is about preparing laborers for the field.

Yes, it is a mystical time of wonder that fills our hearts with gratitude, expectation and peace. May God fill your hearts to overflowing.... n

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Lifting Up an Eschatological Sign for our Time REV. DAVID SONGY, O.F.M. CAP., S.T.D., PSY.D.

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his is my twelfth year presenting the annual workshop on celibate chastity to the second year men of the Pontifical North American College. This time the feeling in the room was different.

The preceding summer dealt several challenges to the Church which touched directly on the witness of priestly celibacy. In a world which incessantly contests the moral authority of the Catholic hierarchy—increasingly so because of grave sin more recently exposed—cynicism raises its ugly head, encouraging people to despair at the possibility of fidelity to a vow of celibacy.

Fortunately, incorrect assumptions about the nature of this promise are the first ideas I address to the men.

Training in celibate chastity is not primarily a course on how to avoid sin. Virtuous behavior is required with any form of chastity: married, single, religious, or priestly. This course for seminarians focuses on the mode of loving particular to the priest, called to donate his entire self in service of many people. Priestly celibacy is an eschatological sign announcing hope to the world.

Formation for celibacy traces a variety of topics, many of which are spelled out in Spiritual Direction for Priestly Celibacy, the assigned text for the course. In addition to the theological points above, there is the need to explore other spiritual elements in this vocation: to be spouse of the Church, a father of spiritual children, a witness

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Jakob Hurlimann, '21 (Austin) gives a thumbs up during a fraternal meal shared with the 2nd Year Men. Healthy fraternal relationships are an important part of faithfully living a chaste celibate life.

of the resurrection, possessing an undivided heart, and a personal commitment to being an instrument that brings others to holiness.

The workshop does address practical aspects of celibacy formation: the need to be transparent in speaking with spiritual directors and formation advisors about chastity, practical tools for dealing with the challenges of vice, temptations, struggles with sin, and maintaining boundaries. A whole day was spent looking at the human qualities of the celibate candidate and the need for emotional maturity, the capacity to relate well to a variety of people, sex education, conscience formation, discipline and responsibility.

In addition to highlighting the importance of priestly love as the main topic of formation for celibacy, the need for an individualized approach to formation was reiterated many times. While the workshop itself provides material, its usefulness is found in discussing each topic

with a spiritual director or formation advisor later. Such material requires personal integration. This is why St. John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis had highlighted the importance of a spiritual father for formation in celibate chastity. Someone who fully understands the process and sees its beauty can provide excellent accompaniment.

Finally, we devoted one session to asceticism, an important element of celibacy formation, according to the Church documents, but often ignored.

Asceticism has a formative quality, whereby particular penances and sacrifices are embraced in order to dispose the person to a specific grace.

Seminarians need to develop manly, heroic qualities that express a fatherly nature unique to the priest.

In the midst of challenging times, the call to love as a spiritual father, suffer with others and engender hope finds itself at home in the priestly vocation to celibate chastity. n

Mercy Served with Justice F R . A L A N M A RT I N E AU ’ 1 8, C ’ 2 1 ( E X P EC T E D) , D I O C E S E O F WO R C E ST E R

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igor versus dispensation.

Justice versus mercy.

The dichotomy of these concepts is nothing new in debates about law.

When considering Canon Law, there are those in the tradition who argue favorably for strict applications of justice, and those who seek greater leniency. Sometimes the same author, at various times and depending on the case he judges, oscillates between the two positions, which seems to further evince the contrary nature of justice and mercy. Yet as ought to be the case for any society governed by just laws, the Church herself as a true and holy society (societas perfecta) seeks through her own Code of Canon Law to justly govern those in her care, neglecting neither justice, nor forgetting mercy in her judgements.

To view mercy as a mere exception or dispensation from the law, as though the law only burdens us, is to deny mercy of its essential link with justice.

Those who labored to codify the law of the Church sought to do so in light of God’s own action as both Just Judge and Merciful Father. After all, the theology of the Church informs the law of the Church. Law reflects Truth and directs human action accordingly.

We ought to see mercy as a gift, something offering more than merely what is due. As Gratian, the father of Canon Law, wrote, “One judging justly serves mercy with justice.”

Mercy stems from justice, certainly.

Therefore mercy never violates justice but exalts itself over justice. Just

as the Prodigal Son receives his inheritance from his father in justice, so too does the Father offer his son more than the son asked upon his return (his conversion) out of mercy.

We do not judge the father to be unjust. Instead, the father offers his son forgiveness and reconciliation.

Such gifts go above and beyond justice, thereby perfecting rather than weakening it.

When the Church makes judgments according to Canon Law she has before her eyes not only the concern for upholding justice, which she may never dismiss, but also the salvation of souls, “which is always the supreme law of the Church” (c. 1752). The common goal of the salus animarum harmonizes the pastoral and juridical dimensions found within the Church.

Though tension exist between the two, viewing these elements as opposed is to see them only with worldly eyes.

Cases arise which demand a more rigorous application of the law, such as when a man presents himself for ordination (c. 1024-1052). In others, a pastor or judge seeks to temper

justice with mercy, bearing in mind human frailty, such as in Confession (c. 959; 987). As Ivo of Chartres (+1116) observed in discussing justice and mercy, “Wherever they clash it is up to the discretion of the judge, who should bear in mind salus animarum, either to apply the rigor of the canons, or dispensation, whatever is more apt, according to the quality of the persons and the circumstances of place and time.” Failure to do so would deviate from what Canon Law prescribes.

Canon Law receives no exemption from the human struggle to apply the law in specific circumstances while also recalling appropriate dispensations founded in, yet extending beyond, justice. Relegating justice and mercy, law and pastoral charity, to opposing camps undermines the very mission of the Church. The salvation of souls requires both. We bear in mind the words of Pope St. John Paul II directed to the judges of the Roman Rota, “There can be no exercise of pastoral charity that does not take account, first of all, of pastoral justice.” n

His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Parolin, the Holy See's Secretary of State, makes a visit to the students and faculty of the School of Canon Law at the Gregorian University.

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New Man No More MARTIN OKWUDIBA ’20, ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

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he past few years in the seminary have been a rapid transition for me, and the experience of coming to the Pontifical North American College in the Eternal City has hardly been the result of my own plans or even my prayers. God has done most of the planning.

all the men who were going to give me a tour of the places I needed to know. My new room was prepared with welcome gifts, but my greatest welcome gift was having a private mass said for me the evening I arrived.

I very much enjoyed my first year in major seminary in the States until I was caught in some unforeseen visa renewal hurdles. One thing led to another, and I found myself in Rome via a stop in my native country of Nigeria. This was not my first time living in a new country but it did bring along many firsts such as not knowing the native language. But, when I learned that I would be arriving in Rome a week before the beginning of

[When] I looked on those words engraved in the reception area, I decided I had to make those words a prayer. spring semester I decided to keep an open mind about this adventure. As I browsed the College website, one thing that really stuck with me was the motto: “Firmum Est Cor Meum.”

And, when I finally stepped unto this ground consecrated by so many nearby martyrs I looked on those words engraved in the reception area, and I decided I had to make those words a prayer: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast (Ps 108:1).”

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Feeling right at home, Martin Okwudiba '20 (Philadelphia) stands confidently at the iconic corridor that leads into the heart of the College.

The “New Man” year is usually a unique experience. It was even more unique for me since I was the newest new man that semester. And this is where the college’s tradition and experience of welcoming new men over the years was helped support me.

From the moment I was picked up at the airport it was obvious to me that I had been well prepared for. I had all my appointments set up and the people who welcomed me included

With over 200 seminarians and faculty living here at the PNAC, it was very challenging to start learning many new names. The size of the college combined with that of the city can make first steps arduous. At the previous seminaries where I have studied, classes were on the same property, so having to walk to almost everywhere in town was quite a challenge. Someone suggested a change of shoes, which was helpful, but what was more helpful was walking to school in the company of other seminarians. Even the longest walks, including those to the Lenten practice of visiting the station churches, have started to make living in Rome much more like a meaningful pilgrimage than a tiring climb.

But my most memorable experience in this period of transition was a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica. As I stood in the middle of the square, embraced in her arms, I said, “Now I am in Rome!”

But none of these moments would have been possible except through God’s Providence. All praise to Him! I am also grateful to my Archbishop for sending me to Rome. And of course, I am thankful to all the staff and seminarians here at the Pontifical North American College. Yes, I am no longer a New Man. n

College Credits on the Janiculum Hill T H E E D I TO R S O F R O M A N EC H O E S

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he seminarians at the Pontifical North American College are in a unique situation compared to many U.S. seminarians: they have to bike, bus, walk and otherwise maneuver through the swarming tourists and wasp-like motorini out to the various universities in the City of Rome to receive their theological education. However, thanks to dialogue between the College’s Academic Dean, Fr. John Cush (’98, C’15, Diocese of Brooklyn) and the academic offices at the Gregorian, the Angelicum, and Santa Croce Universities, many classes taught at the College by the PNAC Formation Faculty are fully accredited by the universities.

Learning ancient languages has been one area that the College has been able to help supplement seminarians’ educations. This year, Fr. Larry Herrera, SJ, PNAC Spiritual Director, is teaching Greek I, Greek II, and Latin II at the College for Santa Croce and the Gregorian. Fr. Randy Soto, Spiritual Director, (C’ 97, C’03, Diocese of San Jose) is teaching Hebrew I for Santa Croce and the Gregorian. And Fr. Bradley Jantz, (’17, C’21), Diocese of Birmingham, a doctoral candidate in Biblical Theology at the Gregorian, is teaching Latin I at the College for the Gregorian, the Angelicum, and Santa Croce.

Beyond languages, Fr. John Cush is teaching U.S. Catholic Church History for the Angelicum and Santa Croce (he also teaches this class at

Fr. Randy Soto F'17 (San José) teaches rudimentary Hebrew in one of the tower classrooms of the College.

the Gregorian itself for PNAC men).

Fr. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Director of Liturgy, is teaching a class accredited

by Santa Croce on Joseph Ratzinger’s classic text, The Spirit of the Liturgy.

And, as has been the case for many years, the Gregorian accredits the first year fundamental/dogmatic theology seminar taught by Fr. Cush and Msgr.

William Millea (’80, C’89, Diocese of Bridgeport). Msgr. Millea has helped strengthen the partnership between the College and the Rome’s universities by teaching this on behalf of the Gregorian for the past 25 years.

In addition to all these accredited classes, College seminarians, if they so choose, have the opportunity to participate in theological and pastoral reading groups. Fr. Daniel Hanley, Director of Admissions, (’05, Diocese of Arlington), facilitates a group in Ecclesiology and Fr. John G. McDonald, Carl J. Peter Chair of Homiletics, (’07, Diocese of

Birmingham) teaches a class in Hispanic Pastoral Skills and the Spanish language. And this does not even begin to touch all of the student-led reading groups ranging from the short stories of Flannery O’Connor and the moral philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre to honing Koine Greek over burgers for the regular Thursday-night American cena in the refectory.

All this is to help form the PNAC seminarians to be well-educated priests of the future, knowing well the Church’s faith and transmitting it to the people with whom God has blessed them. The in-house expertise and even the un-accredited reading groups are a reminder that education is not meant to be reserved to classrooms, but to be shared. Truth and learning tends to invade every nook and cranny of any home, seminary, or parish worth being a part of. n ROMAN ECHOES 2018 • VOLUME 23: ISSUE 1

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Rev. Frank Furman '18 (Springfield), Rev. Mr. Mitchel Roman '19 (Gaylord), Rev. Mr. William Banowsky '19 (Oklahoma City), and Rev. Mr. Shane Hewson '19 (Tulsa), accompanied by Rev. David Schunk '10 F'17 (San Francisco) gather with members of the community at Nyeri Hill Farm.

On Mission in Kenya

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• • • •

R E V. F RA N K F U R M A N ’ 1 8, D I O C E S E O F S P R I N G F I E L D

hen I volunteered for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) mission trip, I was not sure what I was getting myself into. I figured that it would be cool to see some of Africa and get a perspective on that section of our world; I was also interested in seeing what exactly CRS does on these distant trips.

Having dropped my application in and obtained approval from my diocese, my fellow travelers and I started preparing for the trip as Easter approached. I remember the day that

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the CRS representatives told us we were not to do any volunteer work down there, but instead just observe, meet new people, and report back our experiences; I then doubted that this trip was going to be fulfilling in any way, and I thought about backing out.

However, I decided to stick it out, having considered the opportunity of being present to these people, without work to distract me from making a connection with other Christians in a foreign part of the world.

After we raised the possibilities of being eaten by a raging hippo or a lion looking for an appetizer, the staff

• • • •

While they came hoping to get their hands dirty, seminarians instead spent much of this year's trip learning about sustainable management skills.

members from CRS put most of our fears to rest. That is, except for one: the fear of being taken out of our shells. I was once again wondering what kind of encounter I could expect to have on the African continent, and how that would shape my experience of ministry.

We arrived in Nairobi in the middle of a rainstorm – and yes, as a deacon I did bless the rains down in Africa – and then went to our hotel.

The next day we met the CRS staff that were responsible for relief efforts in Kenya. I was dreading this day in particular because it seemed like a waste of time to attend meeting after meeting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn more than I ever knew about CRS and the work that the Church does through it. I never realized how structured the system was and how the staff try to work themselves out of a job and empower qualified, indigenous people to direct aid to their own lands and own people.

One of the Kenyans directly involved in this system was John Mungai (pictured in blue), general manager of Nyeri Hill Farm and Head of Field Operations for CRS. He is a man who knows his drip coffee and talks with

Students stand with Mr. John Mungai (center left) as they learn about seed processing techniques in Kenya.

his hands – half of that should remind you of Italians. If you recall, the College’s student lounge has sold coffee from Kenya to support their farm, which happens to be one of the main sources of income for the Diocese of Nyeri.

Fr. Boniface, also from the same diocese, helps direct operations with his calming demeanor and confident presence. They also raise cattle on the farm, and all the workers we met took great pride in their work. They greeted us with grand smiles because to them we traveled halfway across the world to see their hard work. A farm with modern technology might not seem out of the ordinary to most Americans,

The volunteers snapped a picture with Most Rev. Anthony Muheria, Archbishop of Nyeri, before returning to Rome.

but to these farmers it means a bright future. Perhaps God has heard their prayers and is helping them to support their families.

CRS works hand-in-hand with the people from developing countries to put systems in place that will last for generations to come. It is the old adage about giving a man a fish versus teaching him how to fish; CRS does not just build a solar-powered well and then leave, like some other relief organizations. They teach the community about purchasing the high-tech well, educate them about how it functions and how to maintain it, and then, when the community stabilizes, CRS finally transfers ownership to the local community.

This amazing experience brought us out of ourselves for a short week, and allowed us to encounter a people I would probably never otherwise see.

They may not be wealthy, monetarily speaking, but I witnessed many people who were rich in faith, love, and joy. In completing my simple assignment of reporting what I saw, I hope I returned from my Easter travels with some of these riches as well. n

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The Reason For Our Hope MARK RANDALL, CFRE • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “If Almighty God wishes us to be charitable, He wants us to be enlightened in charity. That is to say, charity should be guided by the light of intellect.”

– Archbishop James Blenk, 1910

I

t is very true that philanthropy, the act of being financially charitable, is more an act of the heart than the brain. We choose to donate to those causes and institutions with which we find an emotional connection. Such emotions can include empathy, compassion, belief, etc.

However, it is also true that more and more often, benefactors want detailed information about the organizations they are supporting. They demand a level of transparency, and want to ensure that their money is being used responsibly and effectively. They are following Archbishop Blenk’s advice, above, to be guided by intellect.

In these recent troubling days within our Church, many people are seeking information. People are angry and hurt – rightly so – and lack of clarity

does not build confidence. There even have been calls from some to withhold charitable giving from Catholic organizations.

If you missed the article from our rector, Fr. Peter Harman on page 5, I urge you to go back and read it now.

Fr. Harman and our faculty in Rome have worked hard the past few months to confirm to our staff and students what is expected in terms of behavior, and also to accompany our students as they navigate this struggle in the Church today.

In personal conversations with many of our benefactors, we have been encouraged by your words of support.

If you have visited the seminary, you have witnessed the sense of joy there, the strong bonds of fraternity and community. These are signs of a healthy house.

Save the Date!

27 th Annual Rector’s Dinner May 9, 2019*

Invitations and registration will be available in February 2019.

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*Note this is one week later than usual The Pontifical North American College

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You will read more about this in Fr. Harman’s December 8 Annual Appeal letter, arriving soon in your mailbox. I hope his message, combined with 2018 stories by our students in this NN issue, will continue to strengthen your trust in the good work which has been P decembe done, and continues to go on, at the North AmericanDecember College.8th

Annual

Appeal

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As you review3 your year-end charitable giving, please know that a gift to the Pontifical North American College a wise investment in the future of the Church. We are forming faithful priests of integrity and humility. These men will return to the United States to serve the laity with courage and holiness.

These future priests are an excellent reason for hope. The future generation of priests needs our support! n

join fellow alumni back in the eternal city for a fun week at alma mater

· Concelebrated Masses at Santi XII

Apostoli, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls · Opening Mix at the newly renovated Casa Santa Maria · Private reception and tour at the Equestrian Order headquarters · Tours of the Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis

· Carl J. Peter Theological Lecture · Founders’ Award presentation

and Banquet at the Seminary · Bum Run: tour St. Paul Outside the Walls new museum and pranzo at Ristorante Orazio · Papal General Audience

130 REUNION TH

alumni alumni association association of of the the north north American American College College

JANICULUM CAMPUS JANICULUM CAMPUS ROME JANUARY 11-16, 2019 --| ROME ROME

Special Reunion rate of €130 /night at the Hotel Michelangelo, but deadline to book is November 19, 2018!

Reunion registration and more information: www.pnac.org/2019reunion

The Pontifical North American College Office of Institutional Advancement 3211 Fourth Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20017-1194 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED1

NON-PROFIT ORG. US. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 144 WALDORF, MD

For more information about the Pontifical North American College, subscription questions, or to learn about ways you can financially support “America’s Seminary in Rome,” please contact Mark Randall, CFRE, Executive Director, Institutional Advancement.

Tel: (202) 541-5411 Fax: (202) 722-8804 Email: pnacdc@pnac.org Website: www.pnac.org “Like” The Pontifical North American College on Facebook to keep up with the latest photos, news, and events from our campuses in Rome.

Our Coat of Arms Variants of the coat of arms are preserved in the “Red Room” of the college. It was designed by the Most Reverend James H. Griffiths, S.T.D., titular bishop of Gaza and auxiliary to the archbishop of New York, His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman, with the collaboration of Mr. William F.G. Ryan.

It was executed by Paolo Medici & Figlio Marmorari Romani in 1953. The primary patroness of the College is the Immaculate Conception, also patroness of the United States. The colors are those associated with Our Lady and the United States: blue, silver, and white. The crescent moon, symbol of the Immaculate Conception, is displayed on a blue chief between thirteen silver stars. The scriptural basis of the emblem is Apoc. 12:1.

The cross is emblazoned in silver and red, paralleling the stripes in the American flag. The rampant lion and the dove with the olive branch refer respectively to the coat of arms of the Blessed Pius IX and Pius XII: the first the founder of the College on via dell’Umilita in 1859, the latter of the new College on the Janiculum Hill in 1953. The crest with the papal tiara above two crossed keys testifies that this is a Pontifical Institution as declared by Pope Leo XIII on October 25, 1885. The motto of the College, Firmum Est cor meum – “My Heart is steadfast,” is taken from the first verse of Psalm 107 in Greek & Latin Bibles, also accounted as Psalm 108 in the Hebrew text and in most English Bibles.