The Matthew Online

JCU students join pilgrimage to Assisi

By Christiana Rein

ROME, Nov. 10 - A group of John Cabot University students on Saturday joined 5,000 other university students from across Rome for the Sixth Annual Pilgrimage to Assisi, the birthplace of Saint Francis.

The day started with an early rise, meeting the leader of the group Father Osvaldo, born and raised in Assisi, in Piazza Trilussa to catch the bus. The students were later joined by another group of students from the Regina Pacis Parish and also Salesian nuns from Monteverde.

Upon arrival at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, where Saint Francis founded the Orders of the Friars Minor in 1209, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, head of the pilgrimage from the Diocese of Rome, welcomed everyone and opened the ceremony with a mass. At the end of the mass, students exchanged the previously-received Tau, the Franciscan symbol used since the Old Testament. Saint Francis used the Tau for its similarity with the cross as a symbol of God’s hope and love for human beings.

The three kilometer pilgrimage immediately started after mass. Everyone headed up hill on their way to the town of Assisi, following the terracotta “Bricked Road”. At the end of the spiritual walk, the groups divided and could see the famous churches of Saint Francis, Saint Damian, and Saint Clare, enjoying not only the religious meanings of the visit but also the beautiful artwork with the particular panorama of the Umbrian hill town.

The closing of the ceremony took place in the Basilica of Saint Francis. At the end, everyone lit a candle and walked back from Assisi to Santa Maria degli Angeli for the return trip to Rome. Father Osvaldo ended the journey by saying, “I am glad the church offers this service for young university students because the future of the world is in their hands”.

When is St. Patrick's Day? When the Church says it is

 

By Melissa Colabraro

ROME, March 15 - Take out your green-colored outfits. Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. 

The Catholic Church pushed the holiday ahead two days to March 15 this year rather than have it clash with Holy Week.

The patron saint of Ireland will be commemorated today with religious ceremonies. Revelers see little problem with the change of plans for "a St. Patrick's three-day weekend".

“Heck, now we have a whole weekend of celebrations,” said John Cabot University student, Alyse Lorenzo.  “I agree with the date change, but I don’t believe people will obey it. There will be people out celebrating on Monday night. It’s just what we are used to.”

 

Catholics in Rome prepare for Holy Week celebrations

By Melissa Colabraro

ROME, March 10 – Starting March 16, Palm Sunday in the Catholic tradition, the streets of Vatican City will be crowded with pilgrims gathering together to begin celebrating Holy Week. 

People from all around come to what is known as the smallest country in the world for the festivities of Holy Week.

Beginning on Palm Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will be saying a Holy Mass in Saint Peter's Square; the procession begins at 9:30 a.m. for the blessing of the palms followed by the procession.

Padre Pio is exhumed, stirring debate among Catholics

By Jamila Gulec

ROME, March 6 - Padre Pio, Italy's beloved saint, was exhumed on Monday from his crypt at Santa Maria delle Grazie church in southern Italy, creating a debate that Italians are still talking about.

Church officials exhumed the body so it could be placed in a glass coffin to be put on display in April for devoted Catholics to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of his death.

Padre Pio, whose image can be seen in shops across Rome, is one of Italy's most popular saints; a recent study found that Italian Catholics prayed to Pio more often than the Virgin Mary and Jesus combined.

The pope calls on students to be "builders of peace"

By Andrew Granger

ROME Mar. 3 - Pope Benedict XVI joined with students around the world, including a group from John Cabot University, on Saturday in a satellite-broadcasted service, calling on students to renew their faith and become “builders of peace.” 

The 80-year-old Pontiff appealed to students throughout the world with brief prayers in seven languages before leading the multi-national crowd in reciting the Rosary. Speaking in English to students at the Catholic University in America, where he will visit next month, the pope said, "With your assistance, may America remain faithful to its Christian roots and to its high ideals of freedom in truth and justice."

 

Looking for a Mass in English? Click here

By Molly Robinson

ROME, Feb. 25 - In the early morning twilight, Catholic from all corners of Rome crowd into an antique church for one reason: to hear a Mass in English.

For those who are feeling far from home, and miss the familiar sounds of English, the Vatican offers 7 a.m. Mass at a different "station" church every morning during the Lenten season.

There are over 40 "station" churches scattered throughout the different neighborhoods of Rome, and visiting a new station church every morning will take you on a beautiful scavenger hunt through the city. Tomorrow, mass will be held at Santa Pudenziana. A full list of the churches can be found here.

Snubbed by academics, the Pope is still a hot topic on campus

By Beatriz Fiore

Rome, Feb. 25 – More than a month has passed since Pope Benedict XVI canceled an appearance to speak at the city's largest public university, La Sapienza, and still students and academics are talking about the snub.

The Vatican was forced to cancel the Pope's 17 January address, which was to coincide with the opening of the new academic year. A number of professors, most of them belonging to the university’s science department, thought this highly inappropriate, and numerous protesting students manifested against the pope.

   
“I can understand both sides,” says Tommaso Longo, who studies Law at La Sapienza, “the pope shouldn’t be invited to speak in [public] institutes. Not all people are Catholic and willing to listen to a religious leader. Faith is a private, individual thing, which shouldn’t intervene with the public sphere. However, freedom of speech has to be respected for all.”

The debate has generated discussion among John Cabot University students as well. “I don’t think he should speak as Pope Benedict XVI giving moral and religious advice, but as an important scholar among other important professors,” says international affairs major Laila Semenza.

Strong views are still held by both Italian and foreign students about the pope’s role in their lives. For some, he is just a Vatican attraction. “It’s nice to see huge masses of people queue up at the gates of St Peter’s, but for me he’s just a tourist attraction with no social importance,” says Antonio Cortès, a Spanish student visiting Rome for the first time, “However, that’s just my opinion. I understand he is important on a religious level for Catholics all over the world.” For others, the pope is a source of moral and spiritual guidance, and should have his say on political and social issues.

 

4-day weekend arrives as JCU students and faculty celebrate All Saints

By Alexis Blaha

ROME, Oct. 31 — Students and faculty will celebrate a day off from classes on Thursday in celebration of the Catholic holy day, All Saints, or Tutti Santi.

John Cabot University students are eagerly planning for the extended weekend break.

The Matthew Online spoke to a number of students, asking them their plans for the "ponte".  Students plan to travel, explore Rome, and simply enjoy a break from school, they said.

Zen wall gazing: do try this at home

By Jeanette Pollara

Rome April 27 - Atop the city, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Termini Station is a haven to leave all burdens behind.  This place is the Zazen Mediation center in Piazza Dante where JCU’s Zen class on Tuesday night took part in a two-hour mediation and dharma talk.

“ZaZen practice is a way to realize our body is constantly manifesting Buddha Nature,” said Dario Doshin Girolami, JCU’s Zen teacher and Reverend Zen monk at Tuesday night’s mediation. Girolami explained to everyone the importance of “dropping off body and mind” while one meditates. Also, that the mediation center is a place to relax oneself and release any tension or thoughts from the past and the future.

Jewish Passover, Roman style

By Vanessa Dones

ROME, April 10 - If you were to meet Alexandra Sondri on the street, she would probably seem like any other Roman. Wearing the latest in Italian fashion and speaking traditional Roman dialect, she is proud of the city that she calls home.

Like many Romans, she can trace her ancestry back for centuries. But her roots are rich with a different form of Roman history. Sondri is one of the 16,000 Roman Jews still living in the Jewish ghetto today.