by By John Connaughton Pontifical North American College
ROME - On Sunday, Jan. 15, 66 seminarians of the Pontifical North American College were instituted to the Ministry of Reader during a celebration of the Eucharist. Eric Chapa of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, who is in his first year of theological studies, was among those seminarians instituted.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, of the Military Services, USA, celebrated the Mass and instituted the new readers.
Among the concelebrants of the Mass were the American bishops present in Rome for their ad limina visits with His Holiness Benedict XVI, including Donald Cardinal Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, and Cardinal-elect Edwin O’Brien, Pro-Grandmaster of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and former rector of the Pontifical North American College.
Handing the book of Sacred Scriptures to each seminarian, Archbishop Broglio said, “Take this book of Holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of His People.”
In his homily, Archbishop Broglio told the new readers that they are to live their lives “possessed by the word.” He said that their institution as readers was not merely a “stepping stone” on the way to priestly ordination, “but rather one more indicator of how we make the presence of Christ resound in a world hungering for Him, but lost in its search amid so many distractions.”
The Ministry of Reader is one of the ministries seminarians receive as they proceed towards diaconal and priestly ordination. As the rite indicates, a reader is charged with proclaiming the Word of God in the liturgical assembly, instructing children and adults in the faith, and preparing them to receive the sacraments worthily.
The Pontifical North American College serves as the American house of studies in Rome, where more than 5,000 priests have been formed for service in dioceses across North America and around the world.
The college strengthens the bonds between Rome and local Churches worldwide, and it allows its students to study the Church’s rich religious and cultural heritage at close range.