On Wednesday morning, Catholic Theological Union President Fr. Enzo Del Brocco, CP, met Pope Leo XIV (CTU MDiv ’82) in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Fr. Del Brocco gave him a photo of CTU faculty and students with a bust of Leo that will be installed on campus.
Since Leo’s election as pope in May, Catholics around Chicago and the US have been reveling in connections to this pope from Chicago, including Viatorians. Our congregation is a corporate governing member of CTU, and Viatorians studied there for decades, including several men whose time at CTU overlapped with Leo.
This week, Vatican News released a documentary, available on YouTube, called “Leo from Chicago.” The movie focuses extensively on Chicago, including Augustinian ministries and communities in the area, the Prevost family’s life in the south suburbs, and, of course, Leo’s time at CTU. CTU professors Fr. John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, and Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA, share about teaching him.
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial, studied with Leo at CTU, and later overlapped with him for most of the two men’s terms as superiors of their congregations, both based in Rome. Fr. Francis contributed to CTU’s special video on Leo, following several appearances on news programs and a podcast and writing an article on Leo and Chicago for TIME.
Last month, Fr. Francis, also a former CTU professor and president, delivered the invocation for Fr. Del Brocco’s inauguration. His prayer included the intention, “Guide in us the way of holy friendships across lines and borders to unite us in hope and love.”
In this spirit, Fr. Del Brocco accompanied his gift on behalf of CTU with a prayer request to the pope for the people of Haiti, where he was a missionary, and especially for Irish lay missionary Gena Heraty who continues to serve there. May this special encounter and new documentary be occasion to reflect on Leo’s role as bridge-builder, and the example Leo sets for CTU students and fellow alumni and all the People of God.