The Eternal City: A Pilgrimage to Rome

After ending a long week of classes, late night studying, and midterms, twenty-three other seminarians from the Mount and I found ourselves on a bus towards Philadelphia International Airport. We checked in our bags, stood in line for TSA, and hopped on a plane headed for Italy. Once on the plane, it finally hit me, "When this plane lands, I will be in Rome." I was beyond excited to see all the beautiful sites, to taste the delicious food, and to see my brother seminarians at the North American College. 

After a long overnight flight, we landed at 9:30 in the morning, and right after landing we were on the move to the North American College or “the NAC” as the Americans call it. The Archdiocese of Washington currently has eight seminarians and three priests studying at the NAC. It was a blessing to see the NAC seminarians, especially since it has been more than a year since I last saw a few of them. Being the adventurous city boy that I am, after I put my bags down in the hotel, I left to explore the city. I discovered that St. Peter’s Square was only a five minute walk from our hotel. I have to admit; my first impression of St. Peter’s was not great. I found myself shortly, thereafter, roaming through the different parts of the city. As I wandered back towards St. Peter’s Square I found myself at the end of the road leading to the basilica. As I walked towards the Church it began to hit me just how massive it truly is. Once I got to the front of the square and the columns of the square came into view, the idea of the columns being the arms of a mother taking in her children came to mind and I was captivated. The visit to the Square, which was initially an underwhelming experience, became a regular activity for me as we were given free time.

Most of our time in Rome was spent touring the city and seeing the many things that Rome has to offer. While all the tours were great, my favorite part of the entire trip happened on our free day. I have a deep devotion to St. Agnes, and since her tomb is in Rome, I had the chance to pray in front of her the place where she is buried. I took full advantage of our free day and I visited both sites where St. Agnes is found. You can see St. Agnes’ skull in her church in Rome, and you can visit her tomb in St. Agnes Outside the Walls, just beyond of the main city. When I went down into the crypt of the tiny basilica, I was overcome with emotion as I was about to see my favorite saint’s tomb. As I knelt down in front of her tomb I could only thank God for allowing me to be there. I prayed a holy hour in the small crypt as tour groups came by to see the tomb. While I was there, a religious sister came down to pray alongside me and as I was about to leave she turned and shared with me some words. In thanksgiving I asked if we could pray the Pater Noster together. There I was, kneeling in front of the Tomb of St. Agnes praying the Lord’s prayer with a religious sister!

Without a doubt my week in Rome was a time of relaxation and fun, but it was also a time of prayer and a deepening of faith. There I was, at the heart of Catholicism. St. Peter came to Rome to build the Church that Jesus spoke about while he was on earth, and it is where so many martyrs, like St. Agnes, risked their lives to profess the truth of the Gospel. I don’t think I have said the Creed as many times in a span of a week than when I was in Rome. The richness of the Church is easily recognized in that city and yet, a lot of it is shrouded in mystery. I think that is one of the true beauties of Rome. The eternal and the temporal meet at this place in history in Jesus Christ, but also in the founding of the Church through Peter. To be physically there in Rome, in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the tomb of St. Peter, the rock on which the Church was built, in a way, allowed me to feel more intimately connected with the Church. The continuity in the Church that is found through the Pope and Peter, and guided by the Holy Spirit, is clearly evident when you are there. My words do not do it justice, but the experience did invite me to deepen my faith and I have thanked God for such a gift every day since coming home. Rome is known as the Eternal City, but may the Lord continue to guide His Church and the Pope, to lead us to the true Eternal City in Heaven.