I was certainly blessed with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit throughout my missionary year in Rome and on Pentecost Sunday (May 20th) I had a great day in the sunshine of Rome, one of the many highlights of the year. Firstly we attended Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica with Pope Benedict. We were joined by students of the Emmanuel School of Mission from Altötting in Germany and there was great excitement as we were reaquainted with them for the first time since our retreat in Paray le Monial in February. After the Mass we had lunch and a time of prayer for each other at Centro San Lorenzo, followed by the Flashmob dance and evangelisation with the World Youth Day Cross at St. Peter’s Square which drew much attention and alot of positive feedback.
We continued our visits to the Congregations of the Faith as the year came to a close. Visiting the Congregations was a huge privilege and gave me a unique insight into the Universal Church and the depth of work that is being carried out throughout the world. Some of the Congregations and Councils we visited included the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for the Clergy, Congregation for Catholic Education, Pontifical Council for Culture, Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Pontifical Council for the Family. There we met various Cardinals, Archbishops and officials who outlined in detail the work of their dicastery and gave us the opportunity to ask questions. One visit I found particularly interesting was our meeting with Archbishop Claudio Maria Cello in the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, he gave us a very comprehensive presentation on the Opportunities and Challenges for the Church in the Digital Era and talked about World Communications Day – the annual celebration that encourages us to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that the modern means of social communication afford the Church to communicate the gospel message.
The formation aspect of the school continued to be most interesting. We completed our study of the Cathechism, the Sacraments and Holy Scripture, and also had comprehensive teaching on Catholic Social Doctrine, Ecumenism and World Religions (Judasism and Islam). We also had very informative talks on marriage and consecrated life with members of the Emmanuel Community. At the end of the term we hosted an informal gathering to thank our teachers, tutors and companions who had guided us throughout the school year – it was a lovely opportunity to reflect upon the many fruits we have gained through a year of authentic Catholic faith formation at ESM.
When we returned to Rome after the Dublin Mission we had the great privilege of going on a week long Lectio Silent Retreat in a Carmelite Monastery in the santuary of the mountains which was most blessed. It was a welcome escape from the intense city life and high temperatures of Roma and an beautiful opportunity to reflect on the ‘Love of the Father’ through through scripture study and guided spiritual direction. Our final pilgrimage of the year was to Tre Fontane, where Saint Paul was beheaded was also a great retreat day. Meanwhile we also visited the exhibition of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassiti, known as the man of the Beatitudes and listened to a great talk on his life given to us by his niece.
Shortly before the end of the school year we had the privilege of hosting two eminent Cardinals at the home of the school in Domus Aurerlia. Firstly we had a great evening with Cardinal George Pell (Archbishop of Sydney and member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation). His Eminence spoke at length to us and I had the opportunity of asking him about the some of the challenges associated with furthering the New Evangelisation in secularised counties. In the final week of term Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity spent an evening with us, joined by Emmanuel priest Fr. Eric Jacquinet who is Head of the Youth Section at the PCL. The School is under the Patronage of the PCL and the Cardinal, who is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation, played an important part in its establishment. His Eminence was eager to hear of our experiences as missionaries and asked each of the students to share their testimonies and personal insights into life at the school and on mission. He then sent us forth for our individual missions with inspiring words of encouragement, outlining the importance of being a lay missionary in the life of the Church today.
