Office of Institutional Advancement

from Roman Echoes 2021 – Volume 25, Issue 3

by Pontifical North American College

Rector’s Corner

In Lieu of the 2021 Rector’s Dinner

MARK RANDALL, CFRE • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Our student editorial team has produced yet another outstanding issue of Roman

Echoes. These articles and photos give an inside view of what life is like at the

Seminary, or at least what life has been like these past few months.

We have an exciting project about to be unveiled that will also give viewers an up-close and personal interaction with our students and the community in which they live…read on!

Sadly, we have been forced to cancel the 2021 Rector’s Dinner due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions in Italy and elsewhere. If you have been to the Dinner before, or even toured the College and met students, you were able to witness the mission of the North American College firsthand. Prior to COVID, we welcomed several hundred visitors to campus each year.

Since none of us can get to Rome right now, we decided to “bring Rome home” in the form of a brief video. (Don’t worry, this is not another Zoom call!)

One of the key goals of the Rector’s Dinner each year is to say thank you to our many benefactors who support the College so faithfully. In brainstorming sessions with our students, we decided to call this video, “Gratitude From the Gianicolo” (referencing the hill upon which the College sits.) A secondary goal was to preserve student involvement, just like at the Rector’s Dinner which is largely their production. Over the past few months, dozens of our students have taken background video, recorded scripts and interviews, provided musical samples, and so on. Just as you’ve seen in this issue of the magazine, the video team worked very hard to produce a piece that is sure to inspire, entertain, and encourage all viewers.

Watch your mailbox for more information, and ways in which you can support the College through this project, in lieu of the Rector’s Dinner. Typically, the Dinner provides a significant portion of our annual fundraising revenue, and we are hoping this video will motivate you to renew your financial support. n

To learn more, go to: pnac.org/gratitude.

2021 Roman and Mediterranean Pilgrimage

In prayerful expectation that travel will be possible by this fall, registration is now open for our 2021 Roman and Mediterranean Pilgrimage. The trip, October 2-9, 2021, features a few days in Rome for our Diaconate Ordinations at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by an extraordinary sea journey to ports of call in Italy, France, and Malta. Learn more at www.pnac.org/cruise.

"The Lord asks us and, in the midst of our tempest, invites us to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering. The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive our Easter faith. We have an anchor: by his cross we have been saved. We have a rudder: by his cross we have been redeemed. We have a hope: by his cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can separate us from his redeeming love.” ~

Pope Francis,

Urbi et Orbi, March 27, 2020