Road to the Vatican
Kristian Sherman traveled halfway around the world to see a local figure elevated in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sherman, 19, of Butler Township visited Rome and Vatican City from Nov. 19 to 26 to witness Pope Benedict XVI install Bishop Donald Wuerl as a cardinal.
Wuerl is the current archbishop of Washington, having previously served as bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006.
“I thought, to have that connection, to be able to go over there, would be something pretty substantial,” said Sherman, who is enrolled at St. Paul Seminary in Crafton.
The pope named 24 new cardinals Nov. 20, including Wuerl, who is originally from Pittsburgh.
Cardinals are considered the pope's closest advisers and all belong to the College of Cardinals, a body whose main function is to elect a new pontiff should the need arise.
Sherman planned the trip with his friend and fellow student Nathan Sudie of McKeesport, who will attend St. Vincent College in Latrobe next year.
The pope made the Wuerl announcement Oct. 20 at the conclusion of his weekly Wednesday general audience.
“Once we heard the news that he became cardinal, we thought about it for a few days,” Sherman said. “Things just came together.”
Before embarking on the trip, Sherman and Sudie contacted the archdiocese of Washington and were provided with tickets to the gathering of cardinals, or consistory.Sherman flew from Pittsburgh to Boston and then directly to Rome, where he met Sudie at the airport.They quickly settled into their modest hotel and went out to see St. Peter's Basilica, where the consistory was to be held.One of the holiest Catholic sites, the basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world with space for 60,000 people.“We were looking all around it, taking pictures of it and really being tourists,” Sherman said.Sherman, Sudie and more than a dozen other Pittsburgh-area seminarians twice had dinner with David Zubik, bishop of Pittsburgh, who lives at St. Paul Seminary.“Bishop Zubik is a very down to earth man, he's very easy to talk to, so I really enjoyed spending time with him in those regards,” Sherman said. “I can really open up to him; it seems like we connect very well together.”Sherman and his companions usually visited small restaurants and he even sampled authentic Italian anchovy pizza.“The sauce and the crust just seemed to be richer and fuller with flavor,” he said. “It was just a very different experience from our pizza over here.”In his spare time, Sherman enjoys cooking and found inspiration for at least one dish.“I did have a veal dish over there that was very good, that I would actually try to make,” he said. “It had ham and cheese over the veal and it was very good.”The consistory event began the next day at St. Peter's Basilica.“The whole place, the basilica was completely filled and I was in the very back, trying to see what was going on in front,” he said.He witnessed the pope give the cardinals their gold rings, which symbolize their bond with the papacy. The ring is traditionally kissed by Catholics when greeting a cardinal.The service lasted several hours and included readings, a homily from the pope, hymns and responsorial songs, Sherman said.Afterward, Sherman attended a reception at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where seminarians who are U.S. citizens study.“We just walked back up the hill and spent the evening greeting people, we saw people that came over from our diocese,” he said. “There are a lot of bishops, priests and deacons, and there are a lot of lay people, too, who come to the Masses.”
The next day, Sherman again attended Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. This time, he was seated outdoors and viewed the service projected on large screens.During this service, the cardinals received from the pope their scarlet-colored silk hats.“I was glad that I actually got to sit outside and watch that,” said Sherman. “If I would have gotten inside, I'd be in the back again, so I got more of the Mass.”Afterward, the pope addressed the crowds as he does each week, Sherman said.He spoke in the languages of the cardinals represented, offering blessings and thanking the people for coming, Sherman said.“St. Peter's Square was filled and it was very nice to feel the unity of the Catholic Church,” he added. “You don't realize how big it is until you're with thousands and thousands of people in one place.”The following day, Sherman attended a papal audience at the Paul VI Audience Hall.“I was really close to the pope at that time, maybe 50 yards away, and just to be in his presence those three days and to receive Communion consecrated by him was a pretty powerful experience,” he said. “I think it really helped me on my track to the priesthood; to know that the church is alive and is just awesome.”Later, Sherman and Sudie explored the area and made sure to visit the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.St. Paul is located outside the city of Rome, which was a welcome retreat for the travelers.“It was important for us to be there as seminarians, just to experience the beauty of the basilica, how quiet it was outside the city of Rome,” Sudie said. “We were able to walk away from the hustle and bustle and excitement of the city and take a few moments to reflect on our trip and our lives, even, and really just have some quiet time in the tomb of St. Paul.”The site was suggested to them by Father Dennis Yourchko, rector at St. Paul Seminary.“Since I do live here at St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul is significant in my life,” Sherman said. “I figured it would be nice to pray at his tomb.”
The next morning, Sherman and Sudie took a quick look around at the tombs of the popes at the Vatican.“We were able to walk off to the side, behind the ropes, and say a few prayers, which was really breathtaking,” Sudie said.Immediately after, Sherman departed Rome to catch an early flight to Munich, Germany.When Sherman was in high school, he and his family hosted exchange student Luca Weigl and the pair planned a reunion with some of the other exchange students hosted through Butler High School.“I did get to see more people from the exchange that came over to America, so it was nice to reconnect,” Sherman said.Sherman sat in on Weigl's English class, which he admitted sounded funny to him as a native speaker and because the teacher focused on British English.“She kind of had the accent, so they were learning different words that I had never heard,” said Sherman, who heard a few slang terms and colloquialisms not used in the United States.The next day, Sherman and Weigl visited downtown Munich and saw the Frauenkirche, which serves as the cathedral of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising and is the seat of its archbishop.They also explored some of the authentic German Christmas markets that were being set up, Sherman said.After spending another low-key day at the Weigl family's townhouse, Sherman prepared to return home and caught his flight.
“I was very privileged to go (to Rome),” said Sherman, who was helped financially by the Rev. James Murphy and the parishioners of St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church in Meridian.Murphy said he thought the trip was important because it promotes a deeper knowledge and understanding of the church.“It's good for him to see how the mother church works and the people that are there, and to get the atmosphere and to meet the different hierarchies: the cardinals, and the pope and people like that,” Murphy said.Murphy also drew parallels between Sherman and Wuerl.“(Wuerl) came from a parish in Pittsburgh, he went to the seminary like (Sherman) — it's nice to see how a person can move up in the church,” Murphy said. “Cardinal Wuerl went to Rome to study, so I was thinking it would be nice if Sherman could go to Rome to study also.”Though it is becoming less common for men to enter seminary in their late teens, Sherman said he first began considering the priesthood when he was in high school.“After altar serving at my parish in Butler, attending Sunday Mass and really praying more, I just felt called to serve the church in this way,” he said. “I knew it would be much more than a nine to five job, it would be a lifestyle.”
Kristian Sherman is a student at St. Paul Seminary in Crafton.Sherman will graduate with a bachelor's degree in theology from Duquesne University.He will then study four more years to earn a master's in theology in his choice of five locations: Rome, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, or Latrobe.Sherman said he has not yet chosen a specialization.“Right now, I think my goal is to become a parish priest somewhere and to get to know the people and teach them the faith and learn more about the faith myself,” Sherman said.A 2009 graduate of Butler High School, he is the son of Eric and Christine Falchetti of Butler Township.His home parish is St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church in Meridian.
Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy.• Official language: Italian• Government: Ecclesiastical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome: the Pope.• Area: 110 acres, making it the world's smallest state. The area is less than the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.• Climate: Temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.• Population: 829 (July 2010 estimate); more than 450 have Vatican citizenship, while the rest have permission to reside there, either temporarily or permanently, without the benefit of citizenship.About half of the Vatican's citizens do not live inside Vatican City. Because of their occupations (mostly as diplomatic personnel), they live in different countries around the world.Sources: www.cia.gov and www.vaticanstate.va.
