The Seminary Community had a wonderful experience during our pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi 21st to 27th June 2025. The pilgrimage was made possible thanks to the generous assistance of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America, to whom we are very grateful and for whom we prayed ad limina apostolorum.
We were hosted in Rome by the Rector (Fr Paul Finnerty) and community of the Pontifical Irish College, where we received a very warm welcome and kind hospitality. We joined the community for Sunday Mass on 22nd June. The President of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Dr Michael Shortall, preached the homily and the main celebrant was the Rector of St Patrick's National Seminary, Dr Tomás Surlis.
On Monday morning 23rd June, we visited the Dicastery for the Clergy. After being warmly welcomed by the Cardinal Prefect and Secretary, we and had an engaging conversation with Msgr Eamonn McLaughlin (Adjunct Under-Secretary for Seminaries) and officials of the Dicastery. The lasting impression given to our Seminarians and Formators was of the Dicastery as a community of faith at the heart of the Church, whose sole focus is to serve Seminarians and Priests in initial and ongoing formation. That evening we attended the Welcome by Archbishop Reno Fisichella (Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation) in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, followed by a concert of sacred music with the choir of the Diocese of Rome, directed by Msgr Marco Frisina.
On Tuesday morning, 24th June, we joined thousands of seminarians from across the globe in making a pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica, where we had the privilege of receiving a beautiful catechesis on priestly formation from the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, during which he said that the Seminary should be "a school of affectivity" where the heart learns to be open to the grace of Christ and to become more finely attuned to his characteristic sentiments of encounter and compassion towards those whom God places on the pilgrim path with us and whom the Priest is called to serve by sharing the truth in love. Pope Leo to Seminarians: “In a world where there is often ingratitude and thirst for power, and the logic of waste seems to prevail, you are called to be witnesses of the gratitude of Christ, of the joy and happiness, of the tenderness and mercy of his Heart.”
On Tuesday evening, we celebrated Mass in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina. The main celebrant was the Abbot-Emeritus of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, Fr Edmund Power OSB. Afterwards, we attended a reception in our honour hosted by the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See, Frances Collins. The Ambassador shared with us about the quiet diplomacy that the Holy See engages with as the listening post of the world which seeks to find common ground with persons of faith and all men and women of good will.
On Wednesday 25th June, we joyfully made our way to Assisi and visited the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which houses the Portiuncula. On Thursday 26th June, we walked together as pilgrims of hope to visit the Basilica of St Claire; the church of Santa Maria Maggiore (burial place of Bl. Carlo Acutis); the Chiesa Nuova (birthplace of St Francis); the Piazza del Comune (with the temple of Minerva) and the Basilica of Saint Francis (upper and lower basilica, with the frescoes and tomb of Il Poverello).
We concluded our pilgrimage with a festive meal overlooking the magnificent valley of Assisi and gave thanks to God for the gift of sharing in this experience of fraternity and faith which we will long hold in our memories with gratitude.
