Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will make his first official trip to the Vatican to visit Pope Benedict XVI March 14-21.
He will be joined by the bishops of Texas and Oklahoma that make up Region X. The bishops of the United States have been making their periodic “ad limina” visits to the pope for the past two months. Bishop Taylor will bring with him a spiritual bouquet, listing the prayers, devotional acts or good deeds being offered for the pope’s intentions by the people of Arkansas. The spiritual acts for the bouquet were gathered by Arkansas Catholic from Catholics across the state.
During the visit, Bishop Taylor and the others bishops will discuss a wide range of pastoral matters with Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican officials. A major theme is likely to be the new evangelization, which will be the subject of a Vatican synod this October. In recent weeks, the pope has told other visiting American bishops of the urgent need to defend religious freedom against the threat of “radical secularism.”
The bishops’ periodic visits are formally called “ad limina apostolorum,” which means “to the thresholds of the apostles” Peter and Paul, who were martyred in Rome. Traditionally, the visits serve as an occasion for leaders of local churches to draw inspiration as well as guidance from the center of Catholicism.
The spiritual aspect of “ad limina” visits is most evident in the liturgies that the bishops concelebrate at Rome’s four major basilicas: St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki said the bishops gather before the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and “we profess or pledge our faith, usually reciting the Apostles’ Creed.”
When bishops come to the Vatican for their “ad limina” visits, they bring with them concerns and ideas that arise in their ministry and in the lives of their people.
During his visit Feb. 9-17, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago noted that it had been more than six years since the U.S. bishops had made an “ad limina” visit, “and practically all the heads of Vatican offices are now different.”
While cardinals and some U.S. archbishops serve as members of Vatican congregations and councils, most U.S. bishops only get to meet and discuss issues with curial officials when they come for their “ad limina” visits, which Church law requires of all diocesan bishops so they can report on Catholic life in their dioceses.
The face-to-face meetings, Cardinal George said, “are all very helpful in creating a unity of mind and heart and an atmosphere where the business of the Church can be conducted to everyone’s satisfaction.”
The bishops make the visits in groups and follow a detailed program of pilgrimage, prayer and business meetings that give them and top Vatican officials an opportunity to ask questions and offer advice.
While Vatican officials may have items they want to emphasize with the bishops, the heads of dioceses also have suggestions, ideas and concerns to share with the curia.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, Wis., said, “I was looking to hear and to see something about the importance of beauty in the new evangelization.”
“I think beauty is what is going to attract others to us: the beauty of the truth of Christ, the beauty of the Church,” the bishop said. “When you go to these churches in Rome, you see the beauty and splendor of God, and as human beings we need that.”
For Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., having the University of Notre Dame and four other Catholic colleges in his diocese means Catholic higher education is a special concern — and one he shared with Vatican officials.
“It’s just so very important that we have deep communion between the local bishop — and the bishops as a whole — and our Catholic universities,” he said.
Catholic News Service contributed to this story.
