Vocations Newsletter

It is, for me, a great joy and happiness to receive the good news of the election of our Holy Father Leo XIV. It is also a great honor to learn that Pope Leo XIV received his Master in Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago – the theological institution where I and many other Maryknollers have been sent to complete our academic preparations before final oath and, for those of us preparing for missionary priesthood, our ordination. I feel a special connection to the Holy Father because we both studied at CTU; we probably had some of the same professors there. What a great blessing it is to learn too that Pope XIV, besides being an Augustinian religious priest, was also a missionary in Peru. I appreciated hearing the Pope offering the same greeting of peace to everyone from the loggia at Saint Peters Basilica as did our Lord Jesus Christ after His Resurrection. I give thanks to God for the election of our Holy Father Leo XIV. Let us pray for the new Pope, and for the Church at this time of joy and happiness! – Fr. Roberto Rodriguez, MM
Read more >

I was listening to the radio while driving when the news broke; white smoke arising from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. I pulled over at the next restaurant – a pizzeria – and rushed in to find patrons watching the news from Rome on CNN. I ordered a slice of pizza not because I was hungry but to pass the time while awaiting the new pope to emerge; a European I expected. When Cardinal Robert Prevost – a native of Chicago and long-time missionary in Peru – stepped up to the balcony as our new pontiff, I thought, “Wow, this is truly a work of the Holy Spirit!” But the surprise turned more personal when, moments later, Fr. Beck, a commentator, remarked that our new pope is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union (CTU) – my alma mater for seminary studies. Fr. Beck mentioned Sister Dianne Bergant, CSA, a CTU faculty member and Biblical scholar; both Pope Leo XIV and I studied under her. She was my favorite professor! I felt a sense of pride in seeing a CTU graduate ascend to the position of the new shepherd of our Church. Pope Leo XIV began his first remarks with the simple…
Read more >

A Shared Experience When I saw the headlines that the first American Pope had been elected, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the new Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, OSA, had received his Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union (CTU), the same seminary where I had begun studying just ten years later. CTU is located on the south side of Chicago; it prides itself in not only being a seminary, but a school of ministry located in a large urban area with diverse opportunities for serving people from all walks of life. The mission of CTU is to prepare leaders for the Church who are rooted in Catholic tradition and who respond to the needs of contemporary society with a special emphasis on cross-cultural ministry and global mission. When I studied there, CTU hosted students from more than twenty different countries. Over half of the student body were laity preparing for ministry, many of them women. This gave seminarians a unique opportunity to be formed in a church marked by diversity – experience important for any church leader today, especially those preparing for a missionary vocation. CTU is unique in that it is sponsored by more than…
Read more >