ROME \u2014 For diocesan seminarians from across the United States, six weeks in the Eternal City offer more than an opportunity to study theology and Church history. The experience allows them to encounter the universality of the Catholic Church, deepen their friendship with Christ, and discover Rome as a spiritual home.<\/p>\n
Each summer, the Rome Experience brings American seminarians to the heart of the Church for a program combining academic study, prayer, fraternity, and visits to Rome\u2019s basilicas, sacred sites, and Vatican institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cRome Experience\u201d: forming future priests in Rome<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I come here, I truly do feel the embrace of those arms of St. Peter,\u201d said David Slonkosky, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Although St. Peter\u2019s Basilica can appear immense and distant, Slonkosky said entering it produces a profound sense of belonging.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a baptized Catholic, I feel: This is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing in friendship with Christ<\/p>\n
The Rome Experience was established in 2009 by the Midwest Theological Forum at the request of several U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n
Its purpose is to strengthen the spiritual, intellectual, human, and pastoral formation of seminarians by immersing them in the history and living faith of the Church in Rome.<\/p>\n
Father Eric Sternberg, director of the Rome Experience, said the program is built around two central principles.<\/p>\n
The first is to help seminarians grow in friendship with Jesus Christ and with one another.<\/p>\n
He cited St. John Paul II\u2019s words on priestly formation: \u201cThis is the meaning of your life and the goal of your education, to know Jesus Christ as a friend who cares about you and the person next to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second principle is to help seminarians see Rome as both a practical and spiritual home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should see Rome as a home,\u201d Sternberg said, \u201cboth for their own spiritual formation and so that they can give that knowledge and formation to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The seminarians may later draw upon their experiences to preach about the saints, explain Church history, or lead their own parishioners on pilgrimages to Rome.<\/p>\n
Studying the Church through theology and art<\/p>\n
During the program, the seminarians take courses at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in theology, Church history, Christian art, and architecture.<\/p>\n
The classes provide an academic foundation while helping participants appreciate the intellectual, spiritual, and artistic heritage of Catholicism.<\/p>\n
Slonkosky described Rome as one of the most important places in the world to study sacred art and architecture.<\/p>\n
He particularly praised art historian Elizabeth Lev for helping the seminarians understand the history of the Church through its artistic treasures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith such a deep love of Church history and the Church\u2019s art, she lets us in on this great secret of the Church\u2019s narrative and history through the lens of art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Encountering the saints of Rome<\/p>\n
Formation also takes place outside the classroom.<\/p>\n
The seminarians visit Rome\u2019s major basilicas, ancient churches, archaeological sites, and the tombs and relics of saints who shaped the history of Christianity.<\/p>\n
Michael Falcone, a seminarian for the Diocese of Nashville, recalled a moment of prayer during a visit to the Colosseum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a very deep moment in prayer there, thinking about all the martyrs who died and how they laid the seed for future generations of the Church,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Standing before the relics of the saints allows the seminarians to encounter them not simply as historical figures, but as real men and women who experienced weakness, conversion, persecution, and sacrifice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou realize that these were human beings who lived in the flesh, and they struggled like we struggle,\u201d Falcone said.<\/p>\n
He described the saints as older brothers and sisters in the faith whose witness can provide strength during difficult moments in seminary and future priestly ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Peter was able to turn back and go to Rome amid persecution, I can endure this little difficult day in the seminary or in the parish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Discovering the work of the Roman Curia<\/p>\n
The seminarians also visit Vatican dicasteries and other institutions of the Holy See, gaining a closer look at the work of the universal Church.<\/p>\n
Among the institutions visited was the Apostolic Penitentiary, one of the three tribunals of the Roman Curia.<\/p>\n
Often referred to as the \u201cTribunal of Mercy,\u201d the Apostolic Penitentiary addresses matters concerning the internal forum and certain grave sins or canonical penalties reserved to the Holy See.<\/p>\n
Unlike public judicial cases, the matters handled by the tribunal remain confidential. These can include certain cases involving the violation of the seal of confession or the profanation of the Eucharist.<\/p>\n
Slonkosky said meeting those who serve in Vatican offices helped him understand their work in a more personal way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been so edified by the men who hold those offices,\u201d he said, adding that he sensed in them a sincere conviction that their work affects the entire Body of Christ.<\/p>\n
Rafael Lopez, a seminarian for the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said the visits helped make institutions that often appear abstract more concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very good to see the people behind all of these institutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meeting Pope Leo XIV<\/p>\n
One of the highlights of the program was attending Pope Leo XIV\u2019s Wednesday general audience in St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n
The seminarians had the opportunity to see the Holy Father and, for some, greet him personally.<\/p>\n
Lopez said he was struck by the Pope\u2019s attentiveness toward each person he encountered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like his whole world becomes the person who\u2019s in front of him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The encounter also strengthened the seminarian\u2019s understanding of the Church\u2019s call to pray for the successor of St. Peter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving this experience of being here and seeing him face to face really solidifies that aspect of our faith,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n
Falcone also described meeting Pope Leo as a powerful experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe pray for Pope Leo all the time, but to get to meet him and put a face and a voice to him \u2014 now I want to pray for him all the more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During their brief exchange, Falcone said the Pope told him, \u201cSee you stateside,\u201d a lighthearted moment that remained one of the memorable encounters of the program.<\/p>\n
United through prayer and the Eucharist<\/p>\n
Alongside academic formation and encounters with the universal Church, the Rome Experience remains firmly rooted in prayer.<\/p>\n
The seminarians follow a daily spiritual rhythm centered on the celebration of Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, meditation, Eucharistic adoration, and communal prayer.<\/p>\n
Slonkosky said the quiet moments of prayer alongside his brother seminarians would remain among his deepest memories of the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were adoring our one Lord together each day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Although the seminarians will eventually return to dioceses separated by hundreds of miles, he said their strongest bond does not depend on physical proximity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greater connection is this mystical connection through the Body of Christ and the Eucharist.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the seminarians taking part, Rome becomes not only a place of study, but a school of prayer, fraternity, and fidelity to Christ and His Church.<\/p>\n
Adapted by Jacob Stein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ROME \u2014 For diocesan seminarians from across the United States, six weeks in the Eternal City offer more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[10830,1761,23941,27,23942,18192,2940,182],"class_list":["post-35647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rome","tag-most-read","tag-pope-leo","tag-priestly-formation","tag-rome","tag-rome-experience","tag-seminarians","tag-top-stories","tag-vatican"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}