ACE-Ireland's Roman Retreat

by John O'Malley, Coordinator of ACE-Ireland

Every year, the ACE Advocate community in Dublin organizes a retreat for former ACE teachers. We feel that this helps to strengthen the fellowship between us and also gives us an opportunity to refocus on our mission as Catholic school teachers. This year, we took our first trip abroad, and spent four days in Rome in early January. Our group was led by Fr. John-Paul Sheridan, a priest of the Diocese of Ferns (in the south of Ireland) and a great friend of ACE.

As anyone who has been to Rome will know, there is no shortage of obelisks, Churches or gelaterias, and on our trip, we experienced all three! Fr. John-Paul is an expert guide, having lived in Rome for two years during his clerical formation. We visited more Churches than I could ever remember, but the highlights included the four Basilicas of Rome – St John Lateran’s, St Mary Major’s, St Paul’s Outside the Walls and, of course, St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. In fact, we were lucky enough to celebrate Mass in the Chapel of St. Columbanus which is located in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica. Our Mass was scheduled for 8am so we got to experience the Vatican at its quietest and most sacred. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip.

On the Feast of the Epiphany, we celebrated Mass with the Irish community in Rome, which centers around the Pontifical Irish College. Founded in 1628, this is the last of the many Irish Colleges that were once scattered over Europe when it was forbidden to educate priests in Ireland. Today the College is home to 60 men studying for the priesthood, about half of whom come from Ireland. We were given a tour of the college by the Vice-Rector, Fr. Albert McDonnell.

No trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. One of the most wonderful things about the city, in fact, is the layers of history that are present. On just a causal walk around the city, we passed by hundreds of statues and monuments that were literally thousands of years old – including all those obelisks! The tallest obelisk in Rome is the Obelisk of Thothmes IV, which is located in Piazza San Giovanni inLaterano. It was the last obelisk to be brought from Egypt. Many other Egyptian artifacts are held in the Vatican museum, which we also visited.

Our trip to Rome gave us time to be together, to share our experiences and to continue to build bonds of friendship. The city is both ancient and ageless, and its impact is long-lasting.