Catch-up blog: Clergy Conference

Though I didn't post many things for awhile on this blog, many things have transpired in the past year which I thought would be interesting to write about. This entry hopefully will be the first in a series of 'catching-up' to the present.

In January, during the winter break, I attended a priest conference hosted by both the Australian and American Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. They hosted it on the occasion of the year of the priest here in Rome. I took the opportunity to go to something right in my back yard (or the front yard depending how you want to describe the Vatican!).

We had a huge turn out of priests from many English speaking countries. The speakers were all top-notch and included personages such as: Fr. Jospeh Carola S.J., Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, Cong. Or., and even His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini!

We had a beautiful Solemn High Mass at St. John Lateran celebrated by Cardinal Cañazares and accompanied by a talented schola cantorum who sang Haydn's Missa Cellensis. Here is a picture of me sitting next to the pope's 'cathedra'.

If you look closely enough at this one you can see me getting ready to distribute communion to the faithful.

We also had a nice mass in St. Peter's Basilica with Archbishop Burke presiding. The schola sang Palestrina's Missa Tu es Petrus - How appropriate! After the mass, Archbishop Burke invited us all over the Apostolic Segnatura for a tour. I was intrigued by the office signs designating whose office was who's:

I guess there's no mistaking who belongs in these offices!

While we were in the Cancelleria we passed by the Roman Rota, but we didn't go in. But I did get a photo at the doorway of one of the Rotal Studios:

One of the nights of the conference was set aside for the Banquet. The conference was hosted at the Domus Sanctae Martae in Vatican City where the Cardinals live during a conclave. At that Banquet they set out for us the papal china:

All around, it was a great conference.