By Jean Gonzalez - Florida Catholic - Orlando
Photographer: COURTESY | Ryan Saunders
Florida seminarians pose outside the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., before the Mass of canonization for Junipero Serra. From left: Michael Scaramuzzo II, Diocese of Venice; Caleb Harkleroad, Diocese of Savannah; Ryan Saunders and Andrew Tomonto, Archdiocese of Miami; and Thomas Pringle, Diocese of Orlando.
ORLANDO | Just as Pope Francis made a whirlwind visit to the nation’s capital, so did some 170 members of St. Vincent de Paul Regional and St. John Vianney College seminaries.
Leaving the evening of Sept. 22 and then returning from Washington, D.C., less than 48 hours later, the only official event the seminarians participated in was the canonization Mass of Father Junipero Serra.
Photographer: COURTESY | Ryan Saunders
Posing with Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, from left: Florida seminarians Ryan Saunders of Miami; Thomas Pringle of Orlando; and Andrew Vitrano of Miami.
Photographer: COURTESY | Ryan Saunders
The view for the seminarians: Pope Francis walks by their pews inside the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
However, Father Alfredo Hernandez, academic dean and director of liturgy at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, said everyone watched the pope’s address to Congress while at Reagan International Airport in D.C.
“It was a neat experience to have a terminal full of priests and seminarians break out into applause as he concluded,” Father Hernandez said. “I believe the call of the men here at St. Vincent de Paul was certainly deep already, but I get the sense that this experience was a good shot in the arm for them.“
While it was the excitement of seeing the pope that might have been the impetus for the seminarians to make the journey to Washington, Father Hernandez said the “key experience” was meeting seminarians and religious from all over the country.
“That was the true ’catholic’ experience that, I am sure, will help them to prepare better to be Catholic priests in the future,” he said.
During the pope’s visit there were several large-venue Masses that were celebrated. When asked whether the joy of the Mass is different when celebrated in such a big venue as opposed to the celebration of Mass in the chapel of the seminary or in a parish, Father Hernandez said, “It’s interesting that 'big Mass' does not necessarily mean 'better Mass.'
“To some extent, to participate fully at a liturgy in an outdoor location with 20,000 to 30,000 of your closest friends requires one to do more to prepare to receive the graces the Lord wants to offer, and to avoid the temptations and distractions that could interfere,” Father Hernandez said. “The participation of the saints in heaven, so evident in the Litany of the Saints sung before the canonization, was a huge help in making us all aware of the awesomeness of what we were doing. To see Pope Francis, the pope of the Americas, here in the United States was very powerful.”
Seeing a pope was not a rare experience for Father Hernandez. He said he had the privilege of living and studying in Rome in the time of St. John Paul II, seeing him there, as well as in Havana. He had seen Pope Benedict XVI in Cologne, Germany, during World Youth Day 2005 and in Washington back in 2008.
But his previous experiences did not make this trip any less special. A particularly profound moment for the priest was the canonization Mass of Father Junipero Serra. He said it marked importance on several levels: evangelization of California and the promotion of vocations.
“Coming days before the opening of the cause of canonization of the Martyrs of La Florida (in Tallahassee Oct. 12), it was a reminder of the cost and the joy of spreading the Gospel of Jesus in every age,” Father Hernandez said. “As a seminary professor and priest of Palm Beach who has been supported so much by the Serra Clubs of our diocese for so many years, it reminded me of the need to pray and work constantly for vocations.”
