Arrivederci Roma

Some of my Canon Law Class inside the Apostolic Palace. The door at the end of this hallway is the pope's bedroom (that is where the popes have normally lived, though Pope Francis is living in another building). We were there awaiting our meeting with the "chief of protocol" for the Vatican Secretary of State.

Dear Friends and Family,

This month in Rome is now coming to an end. Tomorrow morning, thanks to a new rule for visas to Britain, I have to fly back to the USA (instead of flying directly to England), in order to have my visa processed in the U.S. and then will fly to England.

So much happened this past month and even just this past week! There would be too much to write here so I'll include just a point or two.

My guardian angel has taken very good care of me. For example Tuesday afternoon I entered the Vatican City State in order to sign up for a canon law periodical. However I was directed to the wrong office, and was mistakenly led to the office of the editor of the English edition of L'Osservatore Romano (the Vatican's newspaper). Someone opened the door and said, "This is Mary Nolan, our editor." "Mary Nolan? From South Bend?" I asked. Sure enough, there in front of me was the Mary I had met when she was a little 10 year old girl--whose home I used to go to with some other college students to pray the rosary with her family--when I was studying at Notre Dame, and who had now become the editor of L'Osservatore Romano.

So I had the pleasure of catching up on her life and discussing life in the Vatican--which of course she knows quite well after several years as editor. By the time we stopped talking I was supposed to be at my next appointment for a canon law class: an appointment with Cardinal Pell and the officials from the Secretariat for the Economy (in charge of the Vatican's finances). She offered to lead me there by a back way so that I would be on time. We indeed arrived at the Cardinal's office just ahead of the required time. However we were told that the Cardinal and officials had just left... to go to an undisclosed conference room to meet with my class. We asked one of his secretaries which conference room and she replied, "there are about 1,000 in these buildings."

So I headed out to the main avenue, hoping to find some trace of them, and ran into... Cardinal Pell, who for some reason was walking by himself towards the building. He said "well then you can come with me, as I'm a bit late myself," and I had the pleasure of talking with him one-on-one for some minutes as we walked towards the conference room. I thanked him for his courageous witness to the Truth, talked about a few other things, and responded to a few questions he was kind enough to ask about my own priestly life and ministry. After arriving at the conference room he gave our whole class a very frank and interesting talk on his challenging work of trying to get handle on the Vatican finances. He asked that the talk be "off the record" so I'll keep it that way, but will say that he does not have an easy job.

Among other encounters arranged by Divine Providence were lunch with Fr. Thierry Sol, professor of the history of canon law at the pontifical university of Santa Croce (who offered to help me track down some canon law books), a visit to the oldest Carmel in Rome and a chance to pray there at the tomb of Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, and also to speak with the mother superior; a visit to the private quarters and chapel of St. Philip Neri, along with a chance to pray at his tomb in the large church he designed himself.

But right now I am very happy to be heading to a quiet Carmel in England (after a detour to the U.S. for the visa). Meeting important people is interesting and all--and it has been a very interesting past few weeks in terms of getting a sense of the Vatican and of the state of the Church in general--but I'm quite happy right now to leave that behind and head to what seems so much needed in the Church today--quiet prayer, charity, faith, and sacrifice.

Thank you for all the prayers you have offered on my behalf (and don't stop!). I try mainly in these posts to speak about some of God's blessings, but these weeks have also involved their share of crosses. Before signing off, I'll include a few additional photos, and first a story on the lighter side: while traveling via train and bus I have sometimes been following courses in Italian via my cell phone and a set of headphones. One or two lessons focussed on learning how to ask for different things, how to speak about different locations and different times of day. So the course chose to construct a number of conversations around whether or not to order beer or wine, how much, who would bring it, whose home we would meet at, etc. So it occurred to me that the people sitting around me on the train or bus were hearing a priest in a cassock spend half an hour--apparently talking with someone on his cell phone--in intense discussion about how much beer or wine we should order and were and when we should meet. Well, hopefully it gave someone a laugh :).

I prayed for you all in a particular way in this morning's Mass. Below is a photo of that, as well as a few other photos.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

Before yesterday's 6AM Mass. All this week I was blessed to have some nuns attending and praying. This morning I was pleased to find that I could give an impromptu sermon in Italian--with horrible grammar but that seemed to be understandable.

In the little box on the altar is one of the habits that St. Therese of Lisieux wore.

Altar upon which John Henry Newman offered his first Mass as a Catholic priest.

St. Peter's from a rooftop connected to the Apostolic Palace. A Dominican priest from Australia, fellow canon law student, pictured.

My arrangement for sleeping during the warm Roman nights. Since air-conditioning is almost non-existent in Rome (and certainly is non-existent where I'm staying here at the Lepanto Foundation), getting to sleep involves some ingenuity. I found the best arrangement is that pictured above. By closing the base of the fan in my suitcase I can kept it tilted at this angle and the fan blowing directly on me and as close as possible. Between that and a cold shower right before going to sleep I get a good night's rest! Well, sort of... :)

Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Some of the 25 canon law students in my class during one of our visits to the Vatican "dicasteries" (branches of Vatican government) this past week.

Church next to the building housing the Vatican tribunals. Nice place to make Holy Hours--I've made two here so far.

Dear Friends and Family,

My apologies in not posting yesterday! I have been unable to get access to the internet from Saturday night until now. And only have it now in a restaurant where I am trying to type this post while eating (they had free wi-fi), before heading to our next appointment at the Vatican.

It has been quite a full past 10 days! Each day has had a number of meetings with Vatican congregations. For example this morning at 9AM we met with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and were able to ask them questions on their work, here their own presentation of their challenges and work, etc. They fielded two of my questions. I actually wasn't real satisfied with the answers but... c'est la vie.  Then at 11AM it was the Congregation for Divine Worship (i.e. Liturgy), then in an hour it will be the Congregation that interprets legislative texts. An interesting one for a canon lawyer...  There were also a good number of personal meetings and discussions, for example with the priest who runs Human Life International for Italy. I had lunch with him. Great priest.

But I'll focus here on just one of the highlights of the week: having some extended time this weekend with Bishop Athanasius Schneider. If you don't yet know who he is, get to know him! If you haven't already done so, I'd highly recommend reading his book: https://www.amazon.com/Dominus-Reflections-Bishop-Central-Communion/dp/0977884619 It is very short and can be read in less than an hour. It touches on a question Mother Teresa once raised. When she was interviewed by a famous American priest and asked, "Mother Teresa, what is the greatest evil in the world?" She replied, "Communion in the hand." (that is people not receiving Communion on the tongue. Read the good Bishop's book...

For those who don't know him (though many of you do as he's rather famous). He's an auxiliary bishop in Kazakstan, and receives many, many invitations to travel throughout the world and preach. Last week he gave a retreat for priests in California He is one of the most well-known bishops for speaking our courageously to defend the faith in the midst of our crazy world. He lived through some intense persecution years ago.

I met up with him in Florence. He was in town for a Confirmation Sunday and is friends with the family I have become friends with there. So they invited me to spend the weekend. Most of Saturday was spent celebrating Mass, hearing Confessions, and playing a game of soccer with some of the boys. Then in the evening Bishop Schneider came by for dinner. Was a wonderful two hours speaking with him, and listening to him speak. The parents asked him questions that so many parents have today: how to help their children grow up as Catholics in today's world? How to handle questions of media and internet? How to deal with the confusion in the Church today? etc. etc. Was quite interesting to listen to him respond.

It was also interesting to see him interact with the children. He is a very simple man when dealing with them (even though also very intelligent). Was neat to see him feeling "at home" in a family.

Then Sunday I arrived early in the Church and saw him praying in preparation before the Confirmation and Mass. Indeed I was able to assist him with the Confirmation and then to simply kneel beside the altar as he offered Mass.  He is a bishop who really prays. Then afterwards, after the celebratory lunch under the trees, he kindly offered to talk with me alone.

We spent perhaps 30 - 40 minutes talking. He advised me on my own situation and was also kind enough to answer some practical pastoral questions such as how to deal with certain questions that come up in the Confessional. Out of discretion I won't report here his advice, but will simply say that it was very nice to talk with him and to feel so much "on the same page" on so many things. After receiving his blessing I took at train back to Rome and now begins this week of meetings....

If you have a chance, please say a prayer for him and for bishops throughout the world.

I have to go now or else I may get tossed from the restaurant as space here is a premium... :)

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

Ancient Rome and St. Paul

After Making a Holy Hour In St. Peter's.

The Palotine Hill: home to the Emporer's Palace, some ruins of which are seen in the background. Photo taken from Circus Maximus.

Looking across the Circus Maximus with St. Peter's dome in the background to the left.

This bird had no fear! He sat there for several minutes. Looking out from ruins of emperor's palace .

Chapel in Lepanto Foundation where I celebrate daily Mass

Dear Friends and Family,

Every morning and evening you are in my heart as I pray in this little chapel at the Lepanto Foundation, where I am living for three weeks. The large reliquary on the right contains a first class relic of the True Cross and the tiny one just to the left of our Lady contains a first class relic of St. Alphonsus Liguori. It is a very peaceful and quite place to pray. Since I am the only one living here I am able to have several hours in the morning for silent prayer, plus a quiet cloister in which I can stroll to pray matins and lauds, and then offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which some others attend depending on the day. And then in the evening all becomes quiet again. Roberto de Mattei has been very generous in welcoming me here again, and as always is an interesting person to visit with regarding the current situation in the Church and world.

A lot happened this past week: I had a wonderful meeting with Cardinal Burke, who as always was very kind and quite insightful in his advice; I made it through 1 1/2 books in Italian for canon law studies, 3 1/2 more to go.... and spent the better part of a day exploring the old Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill. It was really interesting getting a better understanding of the Roman world in which St. Paul, St. Peter, and others arrived to preach the Gospel. If you want to see a 5-minute silent video of a computer model of ancient Rome, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrIEwjgfbYs.

For example, the Colosseum could hold 40,000 - 70,000 spectators and had games as often as 170 days out of the year, so it was truly a major part of Roman life. Walking around the stadium, learning how the crowd spent their time there, what sort of entertainment was provided (including the martyrdom of many Christians...), which involved elaborate scenes brought up through trap doors in the floor: for example trees and mountains would appear as the backdrop for gladiatorial fights or Christians being fed to the animals.

Or walking around and studying the Roman Forum--with it's many temples to Roman gods, the house of the vestal virgins, the rostra from which Cicero spoke, the emperor's palace, etc. etc. helped me imagine Roman life at the time St. Paul arrived.

And then to picture St. Paul arriving to preach the Gospel message... what a contrast! I've been re-reading the letter to the Romans this week and it is very interesting to think of how that message would have contrasted to the life of Rome. What a call to conversion, to embrace ideals and a life so very different from what the world at the time proposed. And then that gets me to thinking about our world today--in the West not so very different from the pagan world of ancient Rome. It gives me great hope to think of how Jesus gradually "conquered" the Roman empire through the preaching of the Gospel and the heroic witness of martyrs, because that means that He could once again "conquer" our increasingly pagan western world of today. But that will most likely only come through the blood of martyrs and through much sacrifice. Well, may it come soon!

Tomorrow begins two weeks of "courses" at the Vatican as part of my canon law studies. It so happens that this week also has the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, for which my class will be attending the papal Mass. Much to pray for given the current crisis in the Church...

In case you're interested, I'll try to post the schedule below. Hopefully it's visible. Well, I'm heading out in a few minutes to pray at one of the local churches and then to meet someone for lunch.

With much love, and with my prayers, from Rome,

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

Monday 27 June 2016	Tuesday 28 June 2016	Wednesday 29 June 2016	Thursday 30 June 2016	Friday 1 July 2016	Saturday 2 July 2016
9:30  Saints 11:00 Clergy 12:30  Catholic Education	10:30 Penitentiary 12:00 Signatura	Pallium Mass	10:00 Pallium Audience	10:00 Consecrated Life/Societies Apostolic Life 12:00 Eastern Churches
4:00 Protection of Minors*	2:45 Secretariat for Communications 4:00 New Evangelization		4:00 Rota

*via della Scroffa (Sala San Pietro)

Monday 4 July 2016	Tuesday 5 July 2016	Wednesday 6 July 2016	Thursday 7 July 2016	Friday 8 July 2016	Saturday 9 July 2016
9:00 CDF 11:00 Sacraments & Divine Worship	8:30 Bishops 11:00 Evangelization  of Peoples	11:00 Secretariat of State	11:00 Christian Unity		DEPART
5:00 Legislative Texts

Roma

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello from Rome! Below are some photos of where I spent this past week, until arriving in Rome Friday night. I stayed with a host family just outside of Florence. It was a week of Italian immersion. Turned out to also be a week of me recovering from bronchitis.... thankfully the family was very understanding and kind. I had to throw much of my study plan out the window because of the amount of time I needed to spend resting, but it was still a very helpful week for learning Italian. In addition I was able to begin teaching the eldest boy how to serve the traditional Mass, visited the Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus (http://www.institute-christ-king.org/vocations/sisters/) on the occasion of an open house for a new school that the sisters will be helping with (a sort of cross between homeschooling and regular schooling), and visited a really neat (and probably quite holy) priest named Don Iso. He lives way up in the mountains in a historic parish founded who nows how many centuries ago, and raises all of his own food by working the land, in addition to caring for three tiny parishes up in the mountain. Really neat priest, about 50 years old and who didn't speak a word of English, which was good for my Italian practice, who is very devoted to the traditional Mass and above all to helping people grow in holiness. Had a fun sense of humor and was really good with the children. He tried to convince them to take one of his kittens home with them, and almost won the mother over... but not quite.

Well, the photos below will give you a sense of the area. If you have to be sick for a week, it's a good place to be!

Countryside near Florence, from patio of Sisters' Convent

The Children and Grandmother of the family I spent a week with for "Italian Immersion" near Florence

Looking out the front door of home I stayed in

After arriving Friday night in Rome I had a full weekend and am very much looking forward to the next three weeks of study here. It's shaping up to be a time sprinkled with meetings and discussions with interesting people in the Church. I have a feeling my study schedule of all the things I was planning to read while here in Rome may risk getting thrown out the window. I did just that Saturday in order to meet up with someone and to take a tour of the Coliseum. My sense is though that the Lord is asking me to prioritize the contacts with people, and pilgrimage sites, that can only be done while in Rome. Hopefully He'll then help me catch up on studies.

Yesterday I was also able to pray in the Church Santa Maria Sopra Minerva where St. Catherine of Sinna is buried, asking for her intercession. Today involved the morning at Santissima Trinita dei Peregrini, where I celebrated Mass and spent time praying, then lunch with a lady who runs the Italian March for Life, then prayer at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and now hopefully an early night of getting to bed. A rare possibility in Rome where people normally have dinner at 9PM!

I will be carrying you all in my heart this week as I visit the different Churches in Rome. Please pray for me and for a few important encounters that are coming up.

Lastly, the little box that the children gave me in December--"containing their prayers" is still with me and sitting on my desk. Thank you for that gift!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

Italia

My Sister (now Mrs. Patrick Whitmore!), her husband Patrick, my two Brothers and I after the Wedding

Dear Friends and Family,

Though the above photo was not taken in Italy, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Whitmore will providentially be in Rome for part of their honeymoon some of the same days I'll be there later this month, so I'll get to see them in Rome. Right at the moment I'm doing something much less glamorous which is: lying sick in bed. My host family is graciously picking up some antibiotics which should knock out the bronchitis I have (in the past antibiotics have always made short work of this so I assume I'll be up and about quite quickly). After arriving in Italy 48 hours ago I am spending this first week with a family just outside of Florence. The Carmel in England is majority Italian so the language will come in very handy for hearing the sister's Confessions. This weekend's "courses" consisted mainly of talking with the children and listening to them, preaching in Italian, and sleeping. Filippo (age 7) is eager to play soccer so hopefully I'll be doing that with him later this week once I'm closer to full strength. He's also eager to have me watch tomorrow evening's "Italy v. Belgium" in the European cup. It's sort of a national event here and probably good for me to get a sense of--not to mention fun to watch--so I'll plan on doing that tomorrow evening. Two of the little girls, ages 5 and 6, have a "dance recital" tonight which they invited me to. I told them I'd have to take a rain check but will hope to see them dance at home this coming week.

From Wednesday to Friday I had 48 hours in London to meet with several people and make practical arrangements for this coming year. I stayed a few blocks away from the London Oratory and celebrated daily Mass there. It is truly a beautiful church. Take a few moments and take a look here: http://www.bromptonoratory.co.uk/church-tours#s-mary-magdalene  .  More importantly the priests there (9 of them) are well known for reverent liturgy, beautiful sacred music, and good pastoral programs. It is perhaps the most important parish in London and boasts the availability of Confession almost all-day every day. Was nice to see.

Perhaps the most interesting meeting in London was with John Smeaton, head of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), and Maria Madise, who helps run Voice of the Family. SPUC is the oldest pro-life organization in the world, having begun in the 1960's, and the key organization for all of England (not to mention other parts of the world--for example John gave a talk this past year in Ohio at the request of pro-life groups there). John has been involved in SPUC almost from the very beginning. Both he and Maria were fascinating people to talk with and I think are doing very important work. Will look forward to getting to know them better in England.

Beyond that, the airlines managed to send all of my luggage to Detroit instead of London. Thankfully the luggage arrived before I had to fly to Italy. Between working out the luggage (or lack thereof) situation and making arrangements for a good deal on a used car--which was more involved than I thought but seems to have come to a happy conclusion thanks to some expert advise from a devout Catholic mechanic in the London area--and now getting sick, it has been a draining, but very blessed, past week. On that note I had best sign off and get some rest.

Please know that you each--whether you be in Texas, Ohio, Canada, or elsewhere--are in my heart and prayers. As I offered Mass a few hours ago I was thinking--as I so often do--how I miss the altar boys and others I prayed with daily in Texas. Missing you all but praying for you!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

To those in Texas

Playing with my Nieces and Nephews while Visiting Home

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week was a very beautiful one and included my little sister's wedding, which was wonderful in a way that I find hard to put into words for a blog. So I think it's best not to try at this point. I will simply say that it was such a blessing to see her, and a wonderful Catholic man named Patrick, pronounce their marriage vows. I hesitate to write more because I don't think I would have words that would be adequate... and also because I saw most of you who are local in the course of this past week. Hence, I would like to write now to all those in Texas.

Here again it is hard for me to find adequate words, but I feel I should at least try since this is my main means of communication with you all, besides the exchange of letters. I arrived home a week ago to find the beautiful hand-written book that you all created and sent to me. May God reward you! It arrived at just the right time. In 36 hours I will be on a plane for Europe and likely will not be back in the U.S. until next May. You all have been very much on my mind and in my prayers. It is a hard sacrifice to not be able to see you in person, or to pray with you, or to offer the Sacraments to you, or to counsel you, or to laugh and play with your children, or simply to see your smiling faces... I really miss you all.

Upon finding your book I sat down on the floor of my bedroom and slowly paged through the beautiful notes. Your words were very kind. It gives me great hope when I realize what God can do through even a very imperfect priest. But it especially helped to make each of you present, along with so many fond memories. In many ways you all taught me what it is to be a priest, for I learned how to be a priest in the course of the past 8 years in your midst. No doubt I still have very much to learn. But no matter what my future may hold, you all will always be the first Confessions I heard, the first altar boys I formed, the first babies I baptized, the first little girls I tried to help grow spiritually, the first families I tried to lead closer to Jesus, the first for so many, many things...

In addition to receiving your book I was blessed this past week to see one of your families up here in Ohio! It was so good to see again some of the children! They told me how many of you are praying for me daily, and a good number of you have told me the same through your letters. There is no better gift that I could ask for. As I set off for Europe I have a deep peace that this apostolate and study abroad are what the Lord is asking of me for this coming year, and perhaps beyond this coming year though time will tell. But I can also feel in my stomach the nervousness of stepping off into the unknown--in a sense of journeying as a pilgrim whose job it is to try to follow his Lord, but who doesn't really know just what lies around the next bend. It is an immense comfort to know that you all are praying for me. I wish I could convey to you how much that means to me and more importantly how much that helps me.

How many times during the day--for example when I am counseling someone in the Confessional, is it in fact thanks to your all's prayers that provides the light and grace, or strength, courage and peace that I need to be faithful to what Jesus is asking of me? Only in Heaven will I really know, but I suspect it is quite often.

Well, given some unexpected changes for these next 36 hours (a priest is flying in from Italy to give me a workshop tomorrow (on his way to other locations in the U.S.) that will be intense and that was unforeseen), I have to find a way to pack and take care of loose ends rather quickly so I had best end this post. Please receive my heartfelt gratitude for all that you are giving me, your kind words in the book you sent being I know just a sign of much more, and please be assured of may daily prayers for you all.

Well then, all systems are go for takeoff.... Duc in altum!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari