Encountering the Holy Father

Members of the faculty and class of 2024 meet Pope Francis in a private audience on Sunday, September 6, 2020. © Servizio Fotografico Vaticano

Meeting Our Neighbor: An Introduction from the Holy Father

MATTHEW LUDWIG ’24, ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON

New Men normally arrive at the College to a hectic orientation schedule filled with excursions into Rome. My class had a different experience due to the mandated two-week quarantine that began upon our arrival. As our quarantine drew to a close, however,

Fr. Harman announced that Pope

Francis would welcome the New Men at a private audience. Since there is no guarantee that a seminarian studying in Rome will meet the

Pope during his time here, let alone Members of the class of 2024 gather for Mass at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in be received by him in a private the basilica built in his honor. audience, we knew God was giving us a great gift. Our introduction to

Rome was not going to be a tour of tomb of St. Francis, the saint whose on which people can confidently stake the Eternal City but a meeting with name he took. When the day of the their lives. Pray—a seminarian’s path the Vicar of Christ himself. audience arrived, we made our way to ends with acting in persona Christi. the Apostolic Palace and were ushered If this is to happen, we must be men

Once quarantine ended, we traveled to into the room where Pope Francis who pray and really believe. Play

Assisi for a fraternity weekend. It was would soon greet us. sports—the priest’s most important fitting to pray for Pope Francis at the work is done on the altar, but he is He walked slowly to a chair at the not confined there. He must be a

Since there is no front of the room and addressed us in Italian. “Study and pray. And play well-rounded man, a bridge that can extend from Christ across any river guarantee that a sports! A priest who does not move to reach the human heart. seminarian studying begins to have some trouble with his in Rome will meet the mind.” It was simple advice, but worth considering. Pope Francis was not Meeting St. Peter’s successor reminded us of the priestly mission to which

Pope during his time only our introduction to Rome but to we are called. As Pope Francis has here, let alone be received by him in priestly formation at the College. Study—the people of God need priests written, what people expect from priests is “that we should bring Jesus Christ to them and lead them to him, a private audience, who can teach the faith, and rightly to the fresh, living water for which we knew God was so. We will be tasked with presenting the core of our faith not as something they thirst more than for anything else, which he alone can give and nothing giving us a great gift. that merely sounds nice but something else can replace.” n