At the invitation of Fr. Scott Brodeur, SJ, [pictured above] of the New England Province, I visited the Bellarmino Jesuit Community where Scott lives. I was joined by Fr. Jerry DiSpigno (Rockville Center, NY Diocese) who is with me in the sabbatical program at the North American College. Jerry and I had a delighted lunch and visit with Scott and other members of the community, including Russ Rhode, SJ of the California Province, and Len Atilla, SJ of the Province of English Canada.
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| Jerry and Scott below a portrait of St. Robert Bellarmine, SJ. |
In addition to his full time position as a Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Gregorian University in Rome, Scott is also a member of the faculty of the sabbatical program of the North American College. His conference on St. Paul includes an 8 day trip to Greece "in the footsteps of St. Paul." The trip begins on Thursday of the coming week. The sabbatical priests are looking forward to his conferences and the trip. Scott has a terrific reputation as both a scholar of St. Paul and as a tour guide. He has led such tours for many years and has earned very high marks from all of those who have taken his courses and the tour. Scott alternates the tours so that one year it is to Greece and the following year it is to Turkey, all of which are "in the footsteps of St. Paul." I now have a reason to take another sabbatical next year so I can join him on his tour of the pilgrimage sites of Turkey!
It is now late afternoon in Rome. Tonight I will be attending the Easter Vigil at del Caravita. The service begins at 9:00 PM. It will be a long night, compounded by the fact that Europe goes on daylight savings time as of tonight, so it will be an hour's less sleep! Easter Monday is a national holiday in Italy, so we will have a few days to relax before preparing for our trip to Greece. Scott's course is the last module of the sabbatical program. Time has gone by quickly! At the end of Scott's conferences, I begin the second half of my sabbatical as I return home by going around the world. Stay tuned!
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| Portrait of St. Robert Bellarmine, SJ |
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