The Rome Experiences Introduces Seminarians to the “Universal Church”

The story below was originally published in The Athenaeum, MTSM’s bi-annual magazine. The Athenaeum is published twice a year for alumni, patrons and friends of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Heidi Walsh at 513.233.6159 or hwalsh@athenaeum.edu.

Every summer since 2013, seminarians from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have taken part in The Rome Experience, a six-week summer program in The Eternal City aimed at complementing their own seminary formation. Over 11 summers, the Archdiocese has seen a combined 47 seminarians continue their studies and formation with other seminarians from around the country.

Established in 2009 by U.S. Bishops seeking to create a program inspired by Sts. John Paul II, John Vianney and Josemaría Escrivá, the program focuses on priestly identity and spiritual growth. The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, is a member of the Bishops Advisory Board.

“At our Seminary, I am very pleased that we have seminarians from other dioceses, that allows them to get a broader experience of the Church,” Archbishop Schnurr said. “The Rome Experience offers a universal experience of the Church. I am very pleased that we continue to send around five each year to take part in this.”

This past summer, five men from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati studying at MTSM got the opportunity to take part in the program. II Theology seminarians Joe Allaire (Miamisburg), Evan Sharp (Cincinnati), Thomas Wheeler (Eaton) and Charles Wiedenmann (Liberty Township) and Bao Duong (Cincinnati), who is currently on a pastoral internship, were chosen to take part.

“Many of the guys a year ahead of me who went the prior year talked it up and how great their summer was,” Wiedenmann reflected. “Particularly how good their spiritual growth was and that set the tone for the expectation.”

For Wiedenmann, this was not his first time over in Rome, having taken part in a study abroad program while at Franciscan University of Steubenville, but it also came in a different context for the different part of his life he was in.

“I wasn’t the same person then, when I was 19, that I am now,” Wiedenmann says. “You still go over with interest in the culture, the food and the beauty, but your time and focus is more oriented with who I could go pray with and what Saints I can see.”

The itinerary begins in Florence and then goes onto Bracciano, where the participants take part in a five-day spiritual retreat before continuing onto Rome, where they are for a month of academic programs before a visit to the John Paul II International Center for Priests in Ars-sur-Formans, France before returning to the States.

“The retreat gets you rooted well for the month ahead and primes you in a deeper way to be with the Saints and with our Lord,” Wiedenmann said. “It helps you feel more like a pilgrim and less like a traveler.”

While the focus is on the six credits worth of classes (which are accredited by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome), there is also time to bond with the other seminarians, whether they be from Cincinnati or elsewhere.

“It is different being outside of our building in Cincinnati,” Wiedenmann observed. “We are here studying and working, but it at times can be a bit of a checkbox of missions to accomplish. Once outside, there are less formalities, less going through the motions.”

When asked about some of the highlights of The Rome Experience, Wiedenmann reflected on a trip outside of Rome.

“The one weekend that I left Rome and had three days to travel, I went to Venice,” Wiedenmann noted. “Venice is beautiful, but one of the most powerful moments was to pray in front of St. Zechariah and right above him is St. Athanasius. I have always appreciated John the Baptist, especially after taking a class on the Gospel of Luke last year. Every day in Morning Prayer, we pray the Canticle of Zechariah, and I can reflect back on that, which is really cool.”

While Wiedenmann and his Rome Experience classmates’ time there came to an end at the start of July, the next group will be preparing soon.

“My advice to others would be if you have a chance to take advantage of it, it’s well worth your time,” Wiedenmann concluded. “Go there, have high expectations, but don’t have specific expectations for what you want to achieve. Be open to what the Lord wants, there are so many treasures there both spiritual and physical. He’ll what He wants to give to you and you won’t be disappointed.”

One of those men who took advantage of the opportunity was Rev. Jacob Willig, who serves as the Chaplain and Campus Minister at Miami University in Oxford. Having attended in 2014, Fr. Willig joined the Rome Experience seminarians this past year as a Spiritual Director.

“The Rome Experience help you understand the vast history and beauty of the Church in a concrete reality,” Fr. Willig said. “To re-encounter the holy sites as a priest is a particular blessing. I imagine Jesus saying to Peter those words at the shore that he shares with us ‘Do not be afraid! From now on you will be fishers of men!’”