As every year, at the end of August, the second- and third-year students returned from the various parishes or Catholic facilities where they had collaborated in pastoral work. The September Course began: four weeks devoted to intensive training in ministry, with a focus on liturgical and pastoral aspects, and with a strong practical orientation.
Second-year students took courses on catechesis, the art of spiritual direction, history, liturgy and the spirituality of ministries. They also delved into some magisterial documents on the priesthood and took a formative course on emotional intelligence. The third-year priests devoted a good number of sessions to a course on ars celebrandi focusing on the Eucharist; there was also a course on public speaking and homiletics, as well as techniques in parish administration and team building.
All together we enjoyed very interesting cultural visits, such as the one to the Colosseum, the Palatine and the Forum with prof. Javier Domingo; or the visit to St. John Lateran listening to the wonderful explanation of Sister Agnes, a religious of Divine Revelation. We were visited by some outstanding personalities or guest professors who spoke to us during one or two sessions on various topical issues: Cardinal Ebere Peter Okpaleke, Bishop of Ekwulobia (Nigeria); Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Archbishop Prefect of the Papal Household; Archbishop Andrés Ferrada, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Clergy; Msgr. Mariano Fazio, auxiliary vicar of Opus Dei, Juan Narbona, professor of the Faculty of Communication at the University of the Holy Cross, Giovanna Razzano, professor at La Sapienza University, Mariolina Ceriotti Migliarese, child neuropsychiatrist and psychotherapist, Br. Rafael García de la Serrana, director of Technical Services of the Vatican Governorate.
Classes, cultural visits and meetings with personalities who pass on their expertise and experience to enrich our training take place in a more relaxed schedule than during the academic year, with time devoted to sports and socializing. For this reason, this month of formation is also of great importance in strengthening the positive and stimulating atmosphere of community life and our bonds of fraternity.