Fr. Ron Sibugan, the vocation director for the United States, is in Europe right now, preparing for World Youth Day. Below, he details part of his trip to Italy.
On our fifth day in Rome, we decided to slow down. We also picked up Cameron at the airport in the afternoon.
On our sixth day, in the morning, I celebrated Mass in Orsini Chapel in the Vatican Grotto next to the tomb of Saint Peter. It was once again a very powerful and humbling experience for me. Saint Peter has been a great part of my journey to religious priesthood because I can relate to his personality. He also has been a great testimony on what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.
From the late morning to the late afternoon, we took a 18-mile bike ride from Rome all the way to Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. It was a very intense experience because of the bumpy roads and because it was uphill. Then, in the evening, we watched the match between Italy and Germany. We were all devastated when Italy lost the game.