I recently returned from two weeks in Rome where, with about two hundred other recently appointed bishops from around the world, we attended a school for new bishops. We were hosted at the College of Saint Paul the Apostle, a seminary where missionary priests are trained. Presentations were made by cardinals and archbishops from various Vatican offices. We had a three-hour meeting with Pope Leo (including picture taking), attended the canonization Mass for Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, and made visits to pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, John XXIII, John Paul II, and Popes Benedict and Francis. The days were long, with morning prayer as early as 6 a.m. and talks going to 7:30 p.m. It was very worthwhile, humbling, and impressive. At the end of the school, I spent a couple of quiet and prayerful days at Assisi to pray at the tombs of Saints Francis, Clare, and Carlo before returning home.
In meeting new bishops from around the world, I was struck by the universal nature of the Catholic Church. Among our new class were bishops from Myanmar, Ethiopia, Congo, Thailand, Ukraine, Russia, Jordan, Vietnam, India, as well as Italy, France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Poland, Scotland, Ireland, Britain, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Australia. It was moving to meet, and in a short time, come to see bishops from so many countries, continents, and cultures as brothers. We were grateful for the simultaneous translations provided for the talks! I was humbled by the challenges other bishops face and grateful that we are spared the rigors that confront many dioceses throughout the world.
While processing out of Saint Peter’s Basilica for the start of the outdoor canonization Mass, I was also struck by the thought that the joy of the tens of thousands of people present that morning in Saint Peter’s Square was a sign of the joy and attention God has for each person making it to Heaven.
I prayed for you all throughout my time in Rome and Assisi. I am glad to be back among you now. I am eager to continue to work with you all so that, by the grace of God, and with a growing awareness that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we may continue to respond to God’s call to be saints in Heaven, where God wants to greet us all.
Bishop Richard F. Reidy
Diocese of Norwich