November 10, 2024

Last month, I was in Rome as part of a pilgrimage with members of the Basilica of St. Andrew, Roanoke, and to visit our seminarians, who are studying at the Pontifical North American College. While there, I also visited Pacentro, my grandfather’s hometown in Italy. I got to see where my mother’s father was born and where he lived until his teenage years, before poverty forced him, along with others in the community, to seek a life in the United States. On a previous trip, I visited my elderly great-aunt in an assisted living facility which was a converted Franciscan monastery. This time, I prayed at the cemetery where my mother’s grandparents and aunt are buried. Keeping a connection with…