After 150 years in Rome, some things at the Pontifical North American
College are being changed but traditions and the root of its mission in
the formation of future priests continue on.
Pope Pius IX is considered the college's "first founder," having
approved its creation in 1859.
In 1953, Pope Pius XII then dedicated the
"new" college at is beautiful location on one of the storied hills of
Rome.
The institution, locally known as "the NAC," now houses 240
seminarians and new priests from all over the United States as well as
several from Australia and Canada. It is currently at maximum capacity,
enjoying its highest seminarian enrollment in 40 years.
Those staying at the college go to different Roman pontifical
universities for study, but much of their formation takes place at the
magnificent campus.
From its perch on the city's Janiculum Hill, it has some of the best
views possible of the "Eternal City."
A rare view down upon St. Peter's
Basilica is visible on one side, the sprawl of the rest of ancient Rome
dominates on another.
A newly-surfaced sports field, basketball courts and carefully tended
gardens encircle the spacious block that serves the spiritual, physical
and material needs of the diverse group of students and staff.
Priests on sabbatical join the seminarians at the NAC. They reside in a former Carmelite convent on the campus.
The NAC library, which already housed the largest collection of
English-language books in Rome, has been expanded by increasing the
amount of study space.
Other improvements in recent years include
renovations to the lounge and classroom areas, and the replacement of
more than 1,000 windows.
Amidst all the improvements, the core of the NAC's mission is
unchanging, current rector Msgr. James Checchio told CNA.
"Even with all
these renovations and changes, the heart of our program continues to be
forming our hearts to be more like the good shepherd’s through our fine
liturgical prayer and steady private prayer, intellectual study,
apostolic and pastoral formation, as well as through community life,
which is a great formation tool in itself."
Days begin at 6:15 a.m. with morning prayer and Mass in the packed
Immaculate Conception Chapel and continue on with classes around the
city, pastoral, apostolic and house duties, study and formation through
the day.
Ryan Connors, 27, a third-year seminarian from the Providence, R.I.
diocese, said that in three years at the NAC students make a symbolic
journey.
They begin with a Mass celebrated in the crypt beneath St.
Peter's during their orientation.
And they return three years later to
the same basilica to "lay down our lives in the service to the Church."
"It is here that we are ordained deacons, and pledge lifelong
consecrated celibacy, obedience to our local bishops, and commit to a
life of prayer for the sake of God's people," he said.
"Ultimately, the North American College is what the Church asks of
any seminary — a continuation of the apostolic community, of men
gathered around the Lord to learn from him how to love and then to share
that love with his people."
The college has been doing so for a little more than 150 years now.
A
year ago this week, alumni, family and friends arrived on campus to
celebrate the milestone over several days.
Connors recalled it as an opportunity for students for the priesthood
to remember those who came before them and thank God for their service.
Pope Benedict XVI even took part in the celebration.
In a private
audience with students and alumni, he thanked God for "the many ways in
which the college has remained faithful to its founding vision by
training generations of worthy preachers of the Gospel and ministers of
the sacraments, devoted to the successor of Peter and committed to the
building up of the Church in the United States of America."
He applauded the NAC's history of offering seminarians an
"exceptional experience of the universality of the Church, the breadth
of her intellectual and spiritual tradition, and the urgency of her
mandate to bring Christ’s saving truth to the men and women of every
time and place."
These are traditions that the college holds to as dearly as it does
to its other time-honored customs: the hard-earned success of its soccer
team, the annual Thanksgiving weekend festivities, and group trips over
breaks that include those to assist foreign missions.
A strong sense of fraternity is evident in every aspect of campus
life, but it is perhaps Thanksgiving weekend celebrations like last
year's that show the NAC's best colors.
In a country that does not traditionally celebrate the holiday, the
college gathered 400 people together for Mass and a meal this year.
Traditional events include the yearly "Spaghetti Bowl," pitting "old
men" against "new men" in a friendly game of American football preceded
by a rendition of the national anthem.
Divided into the same squads, the
new and old men create and put on shows for the gathering.
Students also group together in their respective corridors to share
breakfast over the weekend, for which Msgr. Checcio has a special
interest. "I like to make the rounds and sample them all!" said the
rector.
Fraternity is revered by the NAC's residents. Connors paraphrased the
Pope's words from the Year for Priests — "no one becomes a priest on
one's own."
"We are not called one man and then another man as much as we are
gathered together as an apostolic bond, like Christ's first apostles,"
Connors said.
The Dec. 8 anniversary of the college's founding gives them the
opportunity to remember its role and blessing throughout its great
history.
It is a chance to give thanks for the clergy, family, friends
and benefactors who have made the the institution and its programs
possible
As Connors put it: "To study in Rome is a unique blessing, so close
to the saints and martyrs of the Church, to the bones of Peter the
fisherman and to the successor of Peter, the Holy Father.
He has learned what it is to lay down his life for the Gospel, he
said. “Through consecrated study of the saving truths of the Gospel,
through fraternity and lifelong bonds of priestly friendship and most of
all through deep, serious, daily prayer I have come more and more to be
ready to lay down my life in service to the Gospel.”
The proximity to St. Peter and his successor, added Msgr. Checchio,
makes for "a very unique formation experience" for seminarians and
priests preparing to serve the people of God.
"It is a wonderful place to learn about Christ and His Church, and to prepare to lay down our lives in service of Him."
SIC: CNA/INT'L