By Upendra Digal
Rome, Jan 22, 2020: My vocation as a priest and studies in Rome for seven months remind me of what Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata often said, “God has not called me to be successful; He called me to be faithful.”
Being faithful in my day to day life gives me more satisfaction and joy. “We are pencils in the hands of God” as Saint Mother Teresa would say and many ways, God’s plan for our lives and the lives of the people that we love and serve, will be a mystery.
As Henry Ford says, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young,” therefore learning is a life-long process.
I reaffirmed this fact while learning Italian with other priests coming from Asia, Africa and America.
Propaganda Fide (the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) organized two and half months intensive language course in Urbino that helped me a lot. Gradually challenges and difficulties turned to be hope and joy when I could read, speak and understand Italian language and know the culture of Italy.
For centuries Italy has been called the garden of Europe for its natural, historical and artistic beauties spread throughout its territory: Rome, Florence, Assisi, Venice, Siena, Pisa, and Naples which are among the best-known cities of the country’s art.
To explore Italy and the history of Christianity, Propaganda Fide also organized tours to different important religious places like the city of Assisi, Loreto, Ravenna and Catacombs of Domitilla in Rome.
Assisi is well known for great Saint Francis, Loreto for Holy House of Mother Mary, Ravenna is known for Mosaics and artistic churches and particularly tomb of Dante Alighieri, father of Italian language.
A great number of pilgrims flock every day to these religious places to spend time in prayer, meditation and silence.
I had a chance to concelebrate Mass in these holy places. Faith and healing experience of pilgrims in Assisi and Loreto touched me. Catacombs of Domitilla reminded me that, suffering and persecution are inseparable parts of Christianity in which the early Christian community grew. All these places inspired me and strengthened my faith immensely.
Rome is a place, the center of Christianity all over the world. Like any priest and Christian, I was delighted when I first time stepped in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City. I felt grateful to God and to my authority for giving me this opportunity.
Thousands of tourists and pilgrims throng to this holy place every day. Some come with great interest to attend Mass, presided by Pope, to the audience and angelus. Keen listening of pilgrims with great devotion in the open ground to the audience and angelus of Holy Father in spite of heavy rain and sunshine moved me.
It was a happy moment when I participated in the Vespers presided by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 1, 2019, when he inaugurated Extraordinary Missionary Month.
I felt fortunate to concelebrate in the canonization ceremony of five saints namely John Newman from England, Giuseppina Vannini from Italy, Mariam Theresa Chiramel Mankidiyan from India, Dulce Lopes Pontes from Brazil and Marguerite Bays from Switzerland.
In fact, it was a wonderful experience for me to witness such a great event. At the occasion of World Mission Sunday on October 20, 2019, Pope Francis invited all the priests, religious and laity involved in the propagation of faith to participate in the Eucharistic celebration. As a student sponsored by Propaganda Fide, I had also the opportunity to participate.
It is true that the culture and politics of Italy is very much influenced by Christianity. As of my experience generally, people of Italy are welcoming, generous, respecting and ready to help strangers.
“Though the number of churchgoers in Italy compared to the past years has dwindled but witnessing Christian faith has not decreased. There have been many voluntary groups that emerged in Italy extending charity to the needy of the countries like Latin America and Africa,” says Mariangela Ermanno De Biasio, whose voluntary group supports education and healthcare in Africa.
It is the beauty of the families coming together on occasions like Christmas, Easter and other family functions. They give equal privilege to sons and daughters, without discrimination.
There are different food habits all over Italy, from South to North but the common known is “Mediterranean Diet”. This diet is divided into different courses. The first course is based on cereals, spaghetti and different types of pasta, olive oil, tomatoes and pizza. The second course is fish or meat or otherwise cheeses with a lot of fruit and vegetables. White and red wine are common drink in almost all families.
My heart flows with immense gratitude to God and the authority for the ceaseless blessings I continue to experience in my life. The study of Biblical theology strengthens my faith and vocation.
(Upendra Digal is a priest of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Odisha. He hails from Kandhamal district that faced anti-Christian violence in 2008. Currently, he is studying Biblical theology in Rome).