Bishop Nelson Perez and a group of priests from the Diocese of Cleveland are traveling to Rome and Assisi for a pilgrimage and retreat. Father Dan Schlegel, secretary and vicar for clergy and religious, is sharing some of their experiences. Below is a recap of the third day.
We began this morning celebrating Mass with the living and the dead. We prayed at an altar at a grotto directly in front of the tomb of St. Peter, the rock upon which our Catholic faith was built as Bishop Perez presided and preached to his priests. As Mass in the grotto began, you could hear the voices of other pilgrims from around the world singing and praying. While some may find it distracting, it actually was a powerful reminder of our Universal Church, a Church who reaches out to everyone.
Varieties of languages, race, socio-economic status, beliefs and faith traditions - all gathered by God as the body of Christ. We learned that the great sculptor Bernini designed the colonnade in front of St. Peter’s Basilica to symbolize the maternal arms of the Church reaching out to the world.
You can really sense this embrace especially when looking down from the dome of St. Peter’s or when viewing a birds-eye perspective of the piazza.
After Mass we visited three of the major basilicas in Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Johannes Laterani and Santa Paulus.
Along the way our group met two cardinals and was pleased to run into a group of students from Walsh University (Canton, Ohio) when touring the Catacombs of St. Domitilla, near the Appian Way. The visit to the basilicas was an encounter with the history, beauty and majesty of our Catholic faith. The catacombs were a stark reminder of our own mortality - in the end all of us rely on the mercy and the providence of God as we await the resurrection of our bodies and Christ’s return.
Though we had to dodge raindrops all day, no cloudy weather could cloak the enthusiasm and joy of visiting these special places and re-kindling a pride and appreciation for the gift of our faith in Jesus Christ and our Catholic identity.
Father Dan Schlegel