by Andrew Dawson
The practice of the faithful visiting different station churches in the city of Rome during Lent has been a tradition of the Church of Rome since the fourth centuryand is continued by the Holy Father, the bishop of Rome, to this day. A revival of the custom for seminarians, called the Station Church Program, was organized by the men of the Pontifical North American College in Rome in the 1970s.
Sacred Heart's formators incorporated this ancient tradition into the seminarian Lenten devotional calendar during the 2005-06 school year. Rotating the visits to different parishes each year gives seminarians a chance to develop a deeper sense of community with the people of the archdiocese and richer bank of experience of what the archdiocese really looks like.
Director of Liturgy Fr. Robert Spezia, explains. We make these station church visits to expose the men to the variety of different types of parish setting—urban, suburban, and rural. At the same time, we provide hope to parishioners who are able to witness dozens of young men offering their lives to serve God and his people.
In February, the Lenten schedule took the seminarians to St. Mary Parish in Monroe, one of the archdiocese's oldest parishes. In mid-March, the men made a pilgrimage to St. Augustine/St. Monica Parish in Detroit. This parish has been pastored for the last twenty years by Msgr. Daniel Trapp, graduate spiritual director.
Both parishes gave the seminarians a warm welcome. Parishioners in turn had a chance to meet and talk with the men, some of whom will be their future pastors. I always enjoy the opportunity to visit these churches, Marquette seminarian Dustin Larson says, because it's a chance to be a witness of my joy in the Lord Jesus.
The station church custom at Sacred Heart extends outside of Lent to our annual Eastern Church visit. On January 25, some of the Chaldean seminarians were pleased to serve Mass in front of their seminarian brothers at St. George Chaldean Catholic Church in Shelby Township. Thanks to a presentation after Mass by Vicar (and Sacred Heart alumnus) Fr. Anthony Kathawa, the pilgrimage was a wonderful chance for Sacred Heart seminarians to hear about some of the traditions of the Eastern Rite Chaldean Church. The Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle is well represented among the student body, with twelve seminarians.
The more seminarians immerse themselves in the community outside the walls of 2701 Chicago Boulevard, the more they see there is a Church filled with loving people eager to share their faith, joys, and struggles with them.
Andrew Dawson
Andrew Dawson is a second year theology seminarian at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.