PROVIDENCE —Deacon Jeremy Rodrigues described his four years as a seminarian at the North American College in Rome as an “outstanding experience” that he will always treasure.
“I was very blessed to have studied and lived so close to the pope and to be near the tombs of the apostles and martyrs,” the Bristol native said, adding that he enjoyed being in a large city and vibrant nation steeped in a “warm and inviting” culture.
“Living in such a Catholic country makes for great study and prayer,” Deacon Rodrigues said, emphasizing that his educational experience extended far beyond the seminary’s classroom walls
The deacon, who will return to Rome to continue his theological studies in the fall, noted that being in the Eternal City at the time of the death of Pope John Paul II and during the exciting days that led to the election of his successor Pope Benedict XVI, was a period filled with grace and prayer. Deacon Rodrigues sang during the late pontiff’s funeral Mass, and standing inside St. Peter’s Basilica, was able to witness some of the most important moments in church and world history.
“It was very moving,” he remembered. “It was a very somber experience, but it was also very serene.”
Deacon Rodrigues added that for many of tens of thousands of young people attending the papal funeral, Pope John Paul II was the only pontiff that they had ever known. His wake and funeral united Christians from all over the world, as they gathered in prayer and thanksgiving for the late Holy Father.
The ordinand said that as a priest, he will gratefully accept the challenge to minister to young Catholics in the diocese and make church teachings relevant to their everyday lives.
“There is need for the truth and a desire to know God,” he acknowledged, adding that youth need to be shown by example that one’s life is richly enhanced and blessed by giving in sacrifice to others.
“That is the life of a priest,” he said.
Deacon Rodrigues, whose parents are natives of the Azores, is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, in addition to English, and is looking forward to ministering to the diocese’s many diverse communities. His seminary classes were conducted in Italian, which he admits was initially a challenge that he quickly overcame because of his fluency in other Romance languages.
“We have a very diverse diocese, which makes it beautiful to minister in,” he concluded.
