What’s it like to study as a priest abroad? St Charles Seminary student Mark Baumgarten, in Italy to complete his theological studies for Perth, writes exclusively for The Record on his journey of discovery.
Mark Baumgarten here writing on 12 August from beautiful Assisi, where the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the lingua bella is being spoken at a level or two beyond my comprehension at this point.
I arrived in Rome in mid-July to begin four years worth of theological study that will compliment the study already undertaken in Perth which, God willing, will see me ordained to the priesthood back in Perth some time in late 2014/early 2015.
My home for the next four years will be the Pontifical North American College – “NAC” for short – a large seminary very close to the Vatican (we’re actually technically on Vatican territory).
This year there will be some 220 Americans and about 12 Australians in residence at the NAC while we engage in our studies at one of the various pontifical universities in Rome.
Said studies are generally conducted in Italian, hence the bulk of the 60-or-so fellow “new men” have arrived early to undertake some intensive language study before classes begin in late September/early October.
We were kept fairly busy during the first week in Rome, both to help our bodies get over jet lag and to get us oriented to the city both geographically and spiritually (I must say, the sheer amount of fine churches/relics/art in Rome is a little overwhelming at first).
Combined with our communal prayer and meals, this also provided an opportunity to begin getting to know my companions for the next four years.
I’ve already had a few good chats with some of them, and I can see that I will no doubt form some quality, potentially life-long, friendships here.
My knowledge of American sports has served as a good ice-breaker with many of them, as is the fact that they are generally amused by all things Australian (the Akubra hat I’ve been wearing outdoors is popular).
After a week in the sauna that is Rome in July, I was able to flee here to Assisi to begin my language study.
For those unfamiliar with it, the Umbrian town of Assisi is about two hours north of Rome, and is most well-known for being the cradle of Saints Francis and Clare (12th-13th century).
It has carefully maintained its medieval character (at least in terms of architecture), and the tranquil, spiritual undercurrent and gorgeous vistas help offset the intensity of the study and the inevitable touristy elements.
I was initially put into a class way above my ability, which led to some melodramatic floundering before I managed to convince the coordinators to demote me to a more realistic level.
Our instructor is Giuseppe, a very funny and encouraging man in his late 50s, whose endless energy helps get us through the long hours of study each day.
Attempts at creativity and humour in Italian are greeted with emphatic high-fives (“Dammi cinque!”), and he has taken to announcing the beginning of a period of practicing prepositions (which terrify us) by prompting us with “San Francesco!” “Prega per noi!” “Santa Chiara!” “Prega per noi!” In other words, pray for us Sts Francis and Clare because we struggle with prepositions.
I’m now more than two weeks into the language study and, despite a few ups and downs, on the whole I’m making some decent progress.
Unfortunately my sleep has been rather spotty, which hasn’t helped my recall abilities in class.
However, having several comrades going through the same thing as myself is a consolation, as is the knowledge that last year’s batch of new men were in the same position as us and many can now speak very passable Italian.
I can understand a fair bit if someone is taking care while speaking to me, and I can even make myself somewhat understood vis-a-vis a limited range of subjects (though my sentences are probably the equivalent of “Me … like … this … good.”).
Speaking of sleep, I’ve often heard that once you start dreaming in a language you’re beginning to make it your own.
Well, I had my first dream in Italian last week, but it consisted of Giuseppe spouting off a bunch of indecipherable phrases at us in class, so I don’t think that counts.
The weekend before last myself and a couple of other guys hired a car and saw a couple of places outside Assisi (La Verna – the mountain a couple of hours north of here where St Francis received the stigmata – and Cascada del Marmore, which is apparently the highest waterfall in Europe).
As we were given a manual car, which neither of the others can drive, it meant I had to do all the driving.
The combination of driving on the opposite side of the road, having to use my right hand to change gears, very narrow streets in the towns, and the unpredictable and sometimes baffling behaviour of Italian motorists (eg overtaking on blind corners on steep mountain-side roads; several cars doing 150 kph in a 90 zone; etc) made for some interesting moments, but I felt like I managed okay, and once my nerves settle down I would be willing to do it again.
The opportunity to attend Mass and other liturgies in the various churches of the city each day is a great blessing, and I’m slowly getting the hang of the Mass in Italian.
Furthermore, yesterday was the feast of St Clare of Assisi, and today is the feast of St Rufino (the town’s first Bishop, martyr and patron), so Assisi has really turned on celebratory mode: church bells ringing throughout the day, processions of relics through the town, banners and lanterns lighting the town at night.
That said, it’s not all smells and bells – I was surprised by a rock concert in the town’s piazza recently, and a Blues Brothers tribute band is scheduled to play there next week. Even the religious celebrations tend to overflow into secular festivities within a day or so – the fireworks we had tonight for St Rufino were unlike anything I’d seen before (fired from an 14th century fort on the north side of the city a couple hundred metres away away, I felt like I was in a Medieval battle).