Exams are in the air in Rome. When they are finished, I will be delighted to return back to the United States for the summer. Msgr Panke, the Vocations director, has placed me for two months in a parish for pastoral experience. During July and August, I will be stationed at Holy Comforter/St Cyprian (HCSC) in South-East DC near RFK Stadium. This is their mission statement: “Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Roman Catholic Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, exists to advocate Christian principles and promote the teachings of the Church through celebration of Word, Sacrament and Christian witness.”
The newly appointed pastor of HCSC, Msgr Charles Pope, will arrived just a few days before me. I suppose we will settle into the parish together. For that reason, what types of ministry I will be involved in is unknown right now. In any case, since the announcement last month, I have begun to pray for the people whom I will serve. Just down the hill from the College here in Rome, there is the Church of the Holy Spirit. It has been nice to walk down there and remember this parish in my prayers.
Each year we have a “Farewell Banquet.” It is at this banquet we say goodbye to all the brothers and fathers who, after having giving a number of years of their life to formation, will be returning to the States for ministry. The event is quite possibly my favorite of the year. Last night, the two-hundred of us gathered in the refectory after Evening Prayer to celebrate in this way the mission of the College.
This year, there are four faculty members departing; Rev Ross Shecterle - the New Rector at our sister school, the American College in Louvain, Belgium; Rev Peter McGuine - returning to San Diego to be a pastor (he will be a great one!); Rev Msgr David Bohr - going on sabbatical to write a book on the Priesthood, based on on his twenty years of being a seminary formator; and Sr Norma Fultz - returning to her Benedictine Abbey. Each will be missed in a real way. Their short time of service here shows how ultimately it is God’s work that they are doing. The Chair of Student Activities Council (STUAC) had a brief opportunity to ‘roast’ those members leaving. It is always done in a spirit of charity and humor. Sam Kachuba did a great job in this role.
Rev Mr Andrew Keswick was chosen by those men about to be ordained to the Priesthood to speak on behalf of their class. He did an amazing job - but turned on his brothers and poked fun at each of them individually in them in a great way.
At the end of the meal, a toast is made to all who are leaving. They are each called by name, followed by the phrase - “Sent to preach the Gospel in …” This evening, more than all others celebrated in the College is directed towards Her mission - to train and form priests to be sent to preach the Gospel in the United States. This mission is clearly manifested in the twenty-three men returning this year to America. I hope to follow in their footsteps when my studies are finished - “Sent to preach the Gospel in Washington!”
