PROVIDENCE — Deacon David G. Thurber will always remember the four years he spent as a student at the North American College in Rome as an "amazing time” that allowed him to witness some of the most important historical events in the history of the Catholic Church.
Deacon Thurber recalled running through the streets of the Eternal City on April 2, 2005 with fellow seminarians to St. Peter’s Square as bells tolled and word quickly spread of Pope John Paul II’s death. Throughout that night, the deacon united with tens of thousands of other Christians in fervent prayer for the Holy Father and in thanksgiving for the late pontiff’s many gifts to the church and world.
For Deacon Thurber, the pope’s death was a profoundly moving and personal experience. Early in his studies in Rome, he was part of a group of diocesan seminarians who had a private audience with Pope John Paul II coordinated by Bishop Robert E. Mulvee.
“In the three seconds he looked at me, it was like he was looking into my soul,” Deacon Thurber said.
He also ran to St. Peter’s Square during the election of Pope Benedict XVI. When the huge throng waiting under the papal balcony finally realized that white smoke was coming from the chimney, they burst into applause and started cheering.
“We were ecstatic,” he recounted.
One of the things that impressed him most about the North American College was seeing many nations from all over the globe represented in the student body.
“It showed the universality of the church,” he said. “We were all there for the same mission.”
As a young cleric, he said, one challenge he faces is changing the negative perception that many young people have of the priesthood and the church stemming from the sexual abuse scandal and the current wave of secularism.
“We have to be as holy as we can be, so that younger generations will have a more positive view of the Catholic Church,” he noted.
Deacon Thurber hopes to get involved in parish life by working with youth, teaching Bible classes, administering the sacraments and ministering to the sick in hospitals and at home.
“Every aspect of the priesthood interests me,” he concluded. “Just being present to people who need the presence of Christ.”
