Pope Benedict XVI designated the 2009-2010 Year for Priests to promote interior renewal among all clergy and celebration of the unique ministry of the priest in the Church. He timed the celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the "Cure of Ars" (pastor in Ars, France, 1818-59, and patron saint of priests).
In the week ahead, we were awestruck by the Catholic traditions of Christian Rome, inspired by the international confraternity of fellow priests, and deeply touched by the pastoral kindness and spiritual power of our universal pastor, Pope Benedict. Throughout we were blessed with the best seats at each event!
Our pilgrimage opened on the evening of June 8, with our group’s concelebration of Mass at the Church of Santa Maria in Traspotina. Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Pope Benedict’s old job), presided for us, offering warm greetings and encouraging words.
On June 9 and 10 we joined thousands of priests and bishops at the basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, for two days’ of talks and Eucharistic celebration. The beautiful basilica was built over the place of St. Paul’s martyrdom. The days’ events were relayed to thousands of other priests and bishops gathered over at the basilica of St. John Lateran. We each had headsets with multiple channels, offering simultaneous translations in Italian, English, Spanish, German, and French. Talks stressed priests’ ongoing conversion and growth in holiness, and invocation of the Holy Spirit and Mary in priestly life. During those two days, thousands of us concelebrated in Latin with respective presiders Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect the Congregation for the Clergy (the Vatican department that organized the Year of the Priest celebration), and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., the Vatican Secretary of State. Music and liturgy were phenomenal.
Thursday night, June 10, proved most moving for many of us. By early evening St. Peter’s square filled with 15,000 priests from 97 countries for a vigil service with Pope Benedict. Waiting in front of Christendom’s greatest basilica, and a larger-then-life image of the Cure of Ars, orchestral and sacred music settled the excitement of anticipation and called us to prayer. As early evening turned to twilight, St. Peter’s became illuminated by floodlights.
The vigil began at 8:30 p.m. with people from around the world bearing witness to the power of God in Christ working through the priestly vocation. Projected on giant television screens were linkups with a German family of six children, the present day cure of Ars, a Latin priest in Jerusalem, priests in poor neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires and Hollywood, a deacon, and a cloistered nun. By the time twilight turned to dark, St. Peter’s radiated in the evening sky.
Suddenly, cheers started and heads turned toward spotlights landing on a red clad figure with a shock of white hair, seemingly floating through the air – Pope Benedict was arriving on the square. Enthusiastic applause and exhilarated cheers soon transformed into a collective “Be-ne-det-to! Be-ne-det-to!” rivalling the chorus of soccer’s World Cup – 15,000 priests cheering for the Pope!
The Holy Father’s open white jeep conveyed him through the crowd of cheering priests and up the steps of St. Peter’s to a chair and altar positioned in font of the basilica. Against the backdrop of the lighted basilica, the priests’ chorus of “Be-ne-det-to! Be-ne-det-to!” grew louder, and Pope Benedict’s big broad grin began to show moistening eyes, giving way to tears. Many priests were deeply moved by his tears.
Pope Benedict conducted a question and answer dialogue with five priests, representing five continents. In his responses, the Pope encouraged us to be filled always with joy for the Gospel and love of Christ; to study theology so as to nourish spirituality; to live celibacy as an anticipation of the eternal life to come; to live the Eucharist as a school of life, helping us all focus away from self and onto God and others; and to promote priestly vocations by prayer, and by authentic and convincing living out of our priestly life.
After this dialogue, Pope Benedict led us in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As he changed into vestments to lead adoration, orchestral music segued into the choral rendition of Edward Elgar’s “Lux Aeterna” (“the Eternal Light”), the communion chant for a requiem Mass. The moving music deepened silence, and eyes gradually turned to the far side of the square, where a procession slowly moved from the great Bronze door: Swiss Guards marched in escort, leading a dozen torch-bearing youth of Rome, lighting the way for a canopy-covered monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.
In something akin to the stadium wave, 15,000 priests and bishops across the piazza dropped to our knees before the Real Presence of the Lord, as the Blessed Sacrament passed by and was conveyed in front of us to the altar. The Pope, too, knelt in adoration. All Rome seemed to fall silent. Slowly audible were sounds of thousands of priests shedding tears, the language of the soul. Pope Benedict led adoration, a prayer for priests, benediction, and the Salve Regina (the final prayer of the day) at 11:15 p.m., and then quietly left the square. “Awesome” was the word of the night, a night of few other words.
In his homily Pope Benedict noted that the Year for Priests aimed to renew appreciation of the unique ministry of the priest: making Christ present to others in a special way through Reconciliation and the Eucharist. He also reflected on Psalm 23, whose opening words, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want", offer a profound statement of God’s love: "God personally looks after me, after us, after all mankind. … God wants us, as priests, in one tiny moment of history, to share His concern about people.”
Noting Psalm 23’s closing reference to the "table set" and "dwelling in the house of the Lord," he said, "God Himself makes us His guests and offers Himself to us as food - as that bread and fine wine which alone can definitively sate man's hunger and thirst. How can we not rejoice that one day we will be guests at the very table of God? " What beautiful and powerful images of faith in our generous God!
The Pope concluded with thanks for the priestly ministry and a call to all followers of Jesus to do our part in his life-giving mission. "Every Christian and every priest should become, starting from Christ, a wellspring which gives life to others. We ought to be offering life-giving water to a parched and thirsty world….”
After the Pope’s homily, priests joined him in renewing our priestly promises. During the Eucharistic prayer, Pope Benedict consecrated the wine in the chalice used by St. John Mary Vianney, the Cure of Ars. We enjoyed concelebrating a powerful Mass, invigorated by the spirit of loving priestly service of our patron, the Cure of Ars.
Early Saturday morning, our Seattle group concelebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The size of the basilica and its grandeur are stunning, and spiritually best appreciated in the quiet atmosphere of early morning. Later we visited the scavi, or “excavations” under the basilica. Discovered in 1939, and excavated in the 1940s and 50s, these remains Roman and Early Christian burial places date to the first century.
Archeological work substantiated the ancient tradition of a place—directly under the basilica’s high altar—where St. Peter was buried. Our guide showed us remnants of historically documented shrines, one atop the other, like Russian nesting dolls. Finally, he pointed to first century Greek graffiti “Peter is here” and then guided our eyes to a glass box, containing bones: on June 28, 1968, Pope Paul VI declared these to be the bones of St. Peter! Here we were, with Peter, and we paused for prayer at the rock of our Church (Mt 16:18).
Saturday evening we celebrated Mass at the Pontifical North American College, beautifully situated atop the Janiculum hill, overlooking Rome, and then went on to celebrate a closing banquet at a restaurant amidst the catacombs on the Apian Way. With grateful hearts, we paused to reflect and pray for now Frs. Joe Altenhofen, Francisco Cancino, Matt Oakland, and Nick Wichert, who were being ordained here at St. James Cathedral at that very hour of our celebration in Rome. With us in spirit, now with us as brother priests, here was a fitting conclusion to our celebration of the Year of the Priest.
I marked the occasion of my pilgrimage by buying a new chalice at the Vatican, an early celebration of my 10th anniversary (3 years away), but the moment was right. I will share that chalice during my time here, and it will always be a reminder of the awesome days I spent in Rome in June of 2010.
Excited, inspired, encouraged, impressed, awestruck, and renewed by the week’s events, we were privileged to celebrate the grace of God working through our priesthood. Grateful to God, we celebrated as confreres from Seattle, brothers to thousands of fellow priests from around the world, and all united with our chief pastor, the Holy Father and successor of Peter, in that place aptly called the Eternal City.
In deepest gratitude for the Lord’s call, and for your support of my priestly ministry,
Rev. Matthew O’Leary, Pastor
