The Eagle Has Landed

Goodnight New York...Good Morning Rome! We've all arrived safe and accounted for here in the Eternal City.

As we boarded our flight in New York last night, many of us realized this would be our last minutes on American soil for several months. It was a beautiful goodbye, as the plane prepared for takeoff, dusk had set its shadow on the city and the millions of streetlights provided a picturesque glow as we lifted off over the Atlantic Ocean.

After a brief night's rest, many of us awoke to somewhat of an overcast sky, but a landscape far different than that we had recently departed. With the unusual amounts of rain they've had this winter, the countryside seemed to resemble Ireland moreso than Italy. After we passed customs and picked up our luggage, stepping outside resembled one of those spring mornings in Wisconsin or Minnesota, complete with the smell of fresh rain in early April.

From the airport, we headed to the North American College (NAC), where we'll be spending the night before leaving for our pilgrimmage in the morning. This is the residence of about 200 American seminarians who are completing their studies in Rome.

One final note, our group headed over to St. Peter's Square in the Vatican for the 12 O'Clock Angelus prayer today, led by Pope Benedict. The Angelus is a prayer recalling the Annunciation, where Jesus became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit, thus making salvation possible for us by God. This important event in our Christian faith is remembered at 6, 12, and 6 each day by Catholics around the world who join together in this prayer.

As I mentioned, tomorrow morning we leave for our pilgrimmage, covering about 60 miles in 5 days. The route we will walk begins north in Viterbo, and ends back here in Rome next weekend. Until then, God's blessings to you and thank you for joining me in my journey!