With the recent death of the Holy Father, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share about the great gift that I received in having met him. Shortly after it happened The Leaven covered the event; you can find the story on their website entitled Archdiocesan Priests meet Pope Francis during pilgrimage.
On May 28, 2022 I was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, and will remain a priest into eternity. That day was one of the most joyfilled and happiest days of my life. Much like those of you who are married, you will never forget your wedding day; for a priest, he will never forget the day he was ordained as that was the day he was configured to Christ in a deep and intimate way.
Part of the Rite of Ordination is that Archbishop Naumann took Sacred Chrism and anointed the palms of my hands with a cross saying: “the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, guard and preserve you, that you may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God.” This act consecrated my hands, setting them apart for holy and sacred tasks.
Have you ever noticed what a priest does with his hands? Everything! It is through them that he calls down the Holy Spirit upon the bread and the wine, it is in a priests hands that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is through the priests hands that he gives a blessing, absolves sins, and through which he does all his ministry.
Following my Ordination, I decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome to give thanks to God for the gift of my priesthood. The purpose of the trip was to go to the tomb of St. Peter to offer a Mass of Thanksgiving. Fr. Thomas (one of my good friends) decided to come along with me for this incredible trip. We arrived on a Tuesday afternoon and that evening we met up with two other priest friends of mine for dinner, Fr. Luke Doyle (a priest of our Archdiocese who was leading a group from St. Michael the Archangel) and Fr. Sean Patrick Riley (a priest of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, England). We had a wonderful evening together: good food, good conversation, and a beautiful night. At the end of the meal, over some digestivi, Fr. Sean Patrick informed us that he had called in a favor as an ordination gift and gave me an envelope with 3 yellow tickets inside. On each ticket was written “Inconto con il Santo Padre” an encounter with the Holy Father. We were going to meet Pope Francis the next day at his Wednesday General Audience!
That night, we could barely sleep. The next morning we awoke very early, pounded an espresso shot and headed for St. Peter’s Square. When It was our turn, Fr. Luke, Fr. Thomas, and myself proceeded to the Holy Father. As we approached him, Fr. Luke said “Holy Father, we are newly ordained priests from America.” He lit up, took each of our hands, and kissed them in the spot where they were anointed. It is a beautiful custom to kiss the hands of a newly ordained priest as a reminder that the priesthood is not something for himself or something that he is meant to lord over the people, but rather it is a gift out of love and service for the people. In this moment, this was Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, acknowledging Jesus Christ present in each of us. There is an old saying: different hands, same priest. Each of us has been united to Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest and it is him at work within each of us.
After kissing our hands, he said to us: “know of my prayers for each one of you. Please pray for me, this gets more difficult every single day.” We then were escorted away by the papal butlers and each handed a rosary. What felt like an hour, was maybe a minute at most.
Ever since that day, I have been faithful to the request of our Holy Father. I have prayed for him in the great difficulty it is to be the Pastor of the entire world. Even today, I continue to pray for Pope Francis and for his successor, whoever he may be.
Everyone has their own opinions on the late Holy Father, some loved him, some did not. But I can tell you this: he was a very deep man of prayer, a great pastor to the Church, and loved our Lord deeply; as that moment that I spent with him, a palpable sense of holiness was present. He truly was a Father to the Church. Please join me in prayer as we mourn his loss.
Eternal Rest grant unto him, O Lord.
- Fr. Andrew