At Sedes, it is always a source of joy to receive visits from former students who have fond memories of the years they spent studying at the College and the University of the Holy Cross. For them, returning to their alma mater is undoubtedly an enjoyable experience. And also for the older formators it is moving to see again, now that they have become priests with more or less time in priestly ministry, the seminarians they accompanied on their vocational journey and to hear from their lips how they are doing, how their family is doing, what they are working on at the moment, etc.
At the community level, the visit of former students often also has a formative aspect, since they are invited to preside at Mass in the College church and to give the homily. These homilies, from the mouths of those who have gone through the same experience as seminarians and then integrated as pastors in the diocesan pastoral dynamics, are very enlightening for the current students.
During this academic year, we have had the good fortune to receive a number of alunni, who gave us an update on their lives and in many cases concelebrated the Eucharist with their former formators.
At the beginning of September, we were joined by Fr. Vedran Torić (2006-2011), who is working on various assignments in his diocese, Split (Croatia). He is accompanied by some young people from the high school where he teaches. He is also an educator in the seminary and a lecturer at the Catholic University.
On 16 September Fr Malusi Ncanana (2012-2018), who is currently the chancellor of his diocese (Eshowe, South Africa) and at the same time serves a parish community, came to celebrate Mass. He was in Rome to participate in a updating course on canon law organised by the PUSC.
A few days later, the Eucharist was presided over by Fr Alan Téllez (2009-2015), who like Malusi is currently Chancellor, but in his case of the Archdiocese of Mexico City. His trip to Rome was also to participate in the same refresher course.
Moving on to October, on the 13th of that month we had the joy of receiving Fr Juan Gabriel Martínez Landaverde (2012-2017), from the diocese of Santa Ana, in El Salvador. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Navarra (Spain).
Eight days later, on 21 October, Fr Richard Stonier (2013-2018), from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg, South Africa, came to celebrate Mass. Fr Richard, after some years of parish ministry, has returned this year to Rome to continue his licentiate studies.
On 23 October it was the turn of a new priest: Fr Emmanuel Marfo (2017-2022), from the Archdiocese of Kumasi in Ghana. It was a great joy to celebrate with him his recent priestly ordination.
The golden culmination to this intense month of October was the presence to celebrate the Holy Mass of Fr. Ceferino Carmona (2016-2019), who after some years working as a priest in the parish and in the seminary in his diocese (Tabasco, Mexico) has recently returned to Rome to study Church History at the Gregorian University.
Fr Marko Gerendaj (2017-2020) is also studying at the Gregorian University, although in his case he is specialising in the Cultural Heritage of the Church: this former student of the diocese of Požega (Croatia) came to celebrate Holy Mass at our College on 6 November.
On 20 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, it was the turn of Fr Albino Zamudio (2021-2015), a priest from the Archdiocese of Ayacucho (Peru), who has returned to Rome after some years of pastoral work to pursue his Licentiate studies.
To end the month, on the 27th we had with us Fr Petro Chacha (2018-2022), from the Archdiocese of Mwanza (Tanzania), who is continuing his studies for a Licentiate in Canon Law and lives in the Altomonte Priests' College.
Also in December, we had the joy of welcoming some of our former students. On Sunday 4, the second Sunday of Advent, Fr Elías Guardado (2009-2014) came to celebrate Mass. After several years of pastoral work in various parishes and a hospital in the archdiocese of San Salvador (El Salvador), he returned to Rome to study for a Licentiate in Canon Law.