14 January, 2015
(Good day dear brothers and sisters!) I am writing to you now from the refectory of a seminary in Montefiascone, about a 90 minute train ride from the Eternal City (Rome). I apologize, but I will be covering yesterday's events, as I only today found internet access.
We are here to visit a missionary community – the Institute of the Incarnate Word. They have a seminary here with roughly 50 men, all of whom are studying for the priesthood or have been ordained priests. Their community is one of many religious communities that exist to spread the Gospel in every part of the globe.
Yesterday we started by getting to Termini, the main train station in Rome. From there we took two trains to Montefiascone and then the brothers from the Institute took us up the mountainous city to the seminary. We had a tour of the grounds and then saw some of the old city which included a now defunct papal castle called the Rocca dei Papi (Rock of the Pope). This castle was a papal summer home in the Bolsegna region during the Avignon Papacy, and St. Ignatius came here to ask the Pope's blessing and approval for the nascent Jesuits. After this we went to the Cathedral, which was just down the hill, and saw a few of the boarded up escape tunnels from the castle. After returning to the seminary, we got an introduction to the work and mission of the Institute of the Word Incarnate, and heard from a few of the seminarians about their conversions and the Lord's call to join the seminary.
After lunch we had a few more presentations and enjoys some espresso, tea, jam and bread with the seminarians for the afternoon snack. Following this we resumed presentations and Q+A sessions, then went to the chapel for evening prayer and Mass. Dinner was at 9pm, so we all naturally went straight to our rooms at the end of the day.
While all of the presentations have been quite impressive, the witness of the community here, their joy, prayer, and spartan mode of living is inspiring, as well as absolutely necessary for all those who proclaim the gospel.
God bless, and let us keep each other in prayer!
- Deacon Chris Gernetzke
Diocese of Madison, WI
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