“A once in a lifetime experience” is how Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., declared the nine-day pilgrimage he and over 20 priests of the diocese took to Rome and surrounding cities Jan. 3 to 11. The pilgrimage, coordinated by Father Ian Trammel, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish, Hamilton Square, saw as highlights the celebration of Mass with Pope Francis, touring ancient sites, and meeting with Vatican personnel on behalf of the Diocese.

The bishop, Jason Parzynski, a seminarian of the diocese and secretary to the Bishop, and Father Erin Brown, campus minister at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, arrived Dec. 30 and stayed in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the guest house where Pope Francis lives. During that time the three N.J. clergy had the opportunity to meet the Holy Father and the Bishop concelebrated Mass privately with the Holy Father.

Bishop O’Connell and Father Brown also had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Peter during their second day in Rome. The tomb is located beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

After the other priests from the diocese arrived in Rome, they readied themselves to concelebrate the Mass for the Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica. “It was a beautiful, prayerful time during which we prayed for our Diocese and the intentions of the faithful entrusted to our care back home,” the Bishop remembered.

A Mass celebrated at the Tomb of St. Peter Jan. 5 was an experience the bishop and his priests found deeply inspiring. “The Mass was so reverent and so moving. Just to think we were celebrating Mass at the Tomb of the chief of the Apostles was awesome. We sang hymns and prayed the prayers so familiar to us, especially the Profession of Faith, with even deeper fervor, placing on the altar the intentions of all who asked us to pray for them while in Rome,” Bishop O’Connell recalled with wonder.

Priests of the diocese appreciated the tours that Bishop O’Connell led in various areas of the Basilica. “We visited the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament where we knelt in prayer, and visited the tombs of Blessed Popes John XXIII and John Paul II who will be canonized in April,” he noted.

Concelebrating Mass with Pope Francis on Jan. 6 was “a once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” the Bishop remembered. He called the priests’ great view of Pope Francis as he recited prayers “a spectacular and very moving experience. The priests, to a man, were overwhelmed by the experience of Mass with the Pope. It was an occasion they will never forget.”

Equally awe-filled experiences were observing the reverent atmosphere of the tombs of St. Francis and St. Clare as well as the excavations underneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Bishop attended meetings at various Vatican Offices, including one at the Congregation for Divine Worship. The Secretary of the Congregation, Archbishop Arthur Roche from Leeds, England, questioned the Bishop about the use of the extraordinary form (1962 Latin) of the Mass in our Diocese, and Father Brian Woodrow gave a detailed report.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip for the Trenton group was a mid-morning Papal Audience Jan. 8. “I secured reserved tickets near the Pope for the priests, really great seats,” the Bishop said with joy. “There was no waiting in line and we were escorted promptly to our seats.” The priests were swept up by the fervor of the crowd as the Popemobile appeared.

The presence of the Trenton pilgrims was announced, and Bishop O’Connell was escorted to personally greet Pope Francis. Bishop O’Connell related the propitious meeting in his blog post.

“As I approached, he opened his arms and said ‘My Lazarist (Vincentian) friend — I had been with him several times the week before. How are your priests on pilgrimage? I prayed for them this week. Please pray for me.’ We embraced and I left the stage with great joy. I’ll never forget the day,” he said.

Later that day, Bishop O’Connell attended a meeting at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith at noon with Msgr. Thomas J. Mullelly, diocesan vicar for clergy personnel and consecrated life. The following day most of the group travelled to the Vatican Office of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization to hear a talk prepared for them on the topic of the new evangelization and parish life by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president.

“The priests responded well and said that they learned a great deal they never really thought about. I was very flattered when the Archbishop referred to my own pastoral letter released for the Year of Faith last year. It’s nice to know that the Vatican notices our Diocese!” the bishop said.

Bishop O’Connell assured the people of the Diocese of Trenton that they were never far from his mind despite the geographic distance.

“Each day during the pilgrimage, we paused at Mass to remember the intentions of all of those people for whom we promised to pray. It was my daily intention at every Mass to pray for the priests, deacons, religious women and men, seminarians and lay faithful of all our parishes throughout the Diocese. They are always present to me as Bishop.”