By Samantha Lin
ROME – Although the academic year has not yet begun for most students at The Lay Centre, there are already students hard at work in Rome.
The Lay Centre hosted one such group of American study abroad students from the University of St. Thomas Rome CORE Semester program. Through this program, they learn both the Italian language and about Italy through site visits and experiential education.
Lay Centre Director Donna Orsuto is a guest professor for one such course. On Sept. 19, Donna introduced the students to the “lasagna” of Rome; the layers of history upon which modern Rome is built. Beginning with a tour of the Case Romane and finishing with a visit of the Basilica of Sts. John and Paul, the students learned about the “middle class” neighborhood of ancient Rome that once shared the same hilltop The Lay Centre now occupies.
The Basilica of Sts. John and Paul was built upon the graves of the two martyrs. The tomb of St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionists, is also in the basilica.
After their tour, the students were welcomed by Lay Centre staff and residents and indulged in a lasagna supper. Over dinner, students shared their observations of their first weeks and listened to five speakers discuss the ways they live out their Christian faith.
I spoke about finding tucked-away moments of peace and prayer in the many churches around Rome and the necessity of prayer as a way of remembering that we are simply the tools of God’s love.
Sister Susannah Miriam Kelly of the Monastic Communities of Jerusalem shared her vocation story. She recounted becoming first a Christian, then Catholic and finally a religious sister, a process that she described as “falling in love.”
Father Simon Donnelly from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg, currently serving in the Vatican Secretariat of State, agreed with Sister Susannah and added his own account of his “delayed” vocation which, he joked, was simply a delayed reaction to a vocation that had long been on his mind.
And finally, Austrian Ambassador to the Holy See Alfons Kloss, and his wife, Anna Maria, jointly spoke about living their vocations as Christians through marriage. Communication between husband and wife is key and, most importantly, between themselves and God through prayer, said Anna Maria.
The students left The Lay Centre with a different perspective on Rome. Not only did they experience the “lasagna” of history below their feet, but they were enlightened by the various stories of how residents of Rome lived their Christian vocations. The students will return to The Lay Centre several times throughout the semester to continue “learning” about Italy and Rome.
