A Bit of Backstory

It's now the afternoon of my third day in Rome, and I'm enjoying a little downtime from our very enjoyable but very busy orientation/introduction to Roman life. I arrived in Rome early Sunday morning and I and most of the 35 or so "New Men" who have come over early to study Italian arrived at the college itself a little before noon. For the past three days, we've been finding our way around the college, seeing some of the sights of Rome, and generally getting to know each other, all with the guidance of several gracious Second Year students.

The view from my room.

For those that may not know, I'm a Roman Catholic seminarian for the Diocese of Little Rock and, God-willing, I'll be ordained a priest in the summer of 2012. Born and raised in Little Rock, I graduated from Little Rock Catholic High School in 2001. I then spent four great years at Saint Louis University from which I received a B.A. in Communications and in English in 2005. I returned to Little Rock and began a job at the Diocese of Little Rock's chancellory where I worked a few different jobs, including serving some time on the steering committee for the Year of the Eucharist. I was accepted by the diocese as a seminarian in the summer of 2006.

This past May I graduated from the pre-theologate seminarian program of Saint Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana after two years of studying philosophy. In order to continue my studies, my diocese and I decided that I should pursue my theology studies at the Pontifical North American College here in Rome. It was hard to leave Saint Meinrad, a very holy place with a lot of faith-filled people, but we agreed that the opportunity and the challenge of studying in Rome was too important to pass up. I will live and pray here at the NAC, located only about 5 minutes on foot from St. Peter's Square, but will study at the Pontifical Gregorian University, situated deeper into the Old City of Rome near the Pantheon.

Why am I studying for the priesthood? That's an easy question to answer: I believe that is what I am called by God to be. Why I believe that is a little harder to answer, but perhaps it will suffice to say that I feel the desire and the urge to witness to the Catholic faith in the world today by serving the Church as a priest. This vocation is something that I've considered and discerned for a long time and while I can't say for sure what lies ahead for me, I feel happy and at peace with my decision to continue on to major seminary.

I started this blog not so much to promote or express myself but rather to keep family and friends abreast of my time and travels here in Europe. I may at times venture into tangents of one kind or another but I hope to mainly keep this blog about what the experience of living in Rome as a Catholic seminarian is like.

It was hard to say goodbye to my home parish, Christ the King Catholic Church, and to my friends and family. Still, I feel that I am doing what God wants me to do and that, along with the knowledge that many back home are praying for me, is a great source of comfort and encouragement.

A family photo a week or two before I left.

That's about it for now. We have a few more days of orientation before we depart for our language programs. Most of the New Men will be studying at Assisi or Sienna, but I'll be studying at the Italian School Il Chiostro in Verbania, northwest of Milan on the shores of Lago Maggiore. I'll certainly send a post along from there if not before.