Msgr. Millea

Msgr. Millea’s Twenty-Seven Years of Service to the College

GUILLERMO JIMÉNEZ LAÍNEZ ’22, DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

ROMAN ECHOES 25TH YEAR

NAC FACTS

Seminarians at the various Pontifical Universities have to take various seminars during the course of their studies. Seminars differ from normal classes because they are more discussion based, rather than lecture. Seminars give students an opportunity to engage course material on a deeper level. All seminarians at the College, whatever university they attend, take a seminar in United States Catholic Church History.

Msgr. Millea’s love for the College is reflected in his twenty-seven years of teaching the first-year seminar, a tenure which came to a close with the 2019-2020 academic year.

Out of everything I learned while preparing to depart for Rome, the information I found most interesting was that I would be having an in-house seminar taught in

English during my first year—one that would, in a sense, repeat everything I would learn that year at the Pontifical

Gregorian University. To make things more interesting, the professor would be a priest from my diocese, Msgr. William V.

Millea (’80, C’89). All this led me both to look forward to the seminar and to wonder why it was necessary in the first place.

Once the seminar began, however, it all became clear. It was not simply a repetition, but rather an opportunity to synthesize and deepen our understanding of all the theological concepts to which we were being introduced in our other classes. For instance, it served as the perfect setting to connect what we learned in Christology to what we learned in Patrology. The ultimate goal was, as Msgr. Millea explained, to seek “mastery of the material through questions and discussions,” something not available during the Roman-style lectures.

The many years Msgr. Millea taught this seminar reflects the importance he places in making this setting available to students at the College, where they can both deepen and integrate the material learned in class, as well as see how it relates to their spiritual life and apostolic work. He began teaching the seminar in 1993. Even though he was particularly busy that year, both because it was his first year serving as a Papal Master of Ceremonies and because of his position at the English Language

Monsignor William V. Millea '80, C'89 (Bridgeport) introduces the topic of the day's seminar to his students.

desk of the Vatican Secretariat of State, all it took to convince him to teach the seminar were the words: “It’s for the College.”

Msgr. Millea’s love for the College is reflected in his twenty-seven years of teaching the first-year seminar, a tenure which came to a close with the 2019-2020 academic year. This is simply one of the many ways he has expressed his dedication and support for both the mission of the College as well as that of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

As an alumnus of his seminar, I am thankful to Msgr. Millea for his service to the College and for his important contribution to my own academic formation. Even though Msgr. Millea’s high academic expectations made the seminar one of the most difficult classes that I have ever taken, it prepared me well to succeed in my remaining years of formal studies. I am not alone in this opinion: as one classmate recently remarked, “Msgr. Millea’s seminar proves to be the best class we have taken, time and time again.” n