VATICAN CITY — On Sunday, Feb. 26, Msgr. James Checchio was formally installed as the new rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. The college houses 162 seminarians from 72 American dioceses and three Australian dioceses.

Msgr. Checchio spoke last month with Register correspondent Raymond Cleaveland at the North American College.

 

Can you tell me a bit of your background?

I grew up in a committed Catholic family in the Diocese of Camden, N.J. It was during college that I discerned my priestly vocation and applied to the diocese.

I had a cousin who was a priest and an aunt who was a nun. I attended Catholic schools, and my family was friendly with the priests and sisters who worked in our parish. The idea of a religious vocation seemed to be quite regular.

During college, I started to attend daily Mass and spend more time in prayer. I felt the Lord leading me in the direction of priesthood, which I found attractive, as it gave me a chance to share with others the blessings that had been shared with me. After college seminary, I was sent to the North American College for my continued formation and theological studies. 

You’ve just begun as rector of the North American College. How long have you been in the ministry of seminary formation?

I arrived at the college as vice rector for administration in August 2003. Previously, in my home diocese, I had been assigned in parish, chancery and chaplaincy work. From 1995-1997, I lived at the North American College again, at the Casa Santa Maria, the graduate house for priests, and finished my doctorate in canon law.

What are your goals for the college?

At a recent meeting with seminarians in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict reminded us all about what kind of priests the Church needs for the work of the New Evangelization: “To respond to the expectations of modern society, to cooperate in the great evangelizing action that involves all Christians, prepared and courageous priests are needed who, without ambitions and fears, but convinced of the Gospel truth, are concerned above all with proclaiming Christ.”

The Church needs in our time, probably as much as any time in the history of the Church, prepared and courageous priests. This means we have an especially hard challenge in seminary today. We need to prepare priests who will have undivided loyalty to God and be prepared to pour out their lives in service to the Church.

Everything we do in this house should be directed to helping our seminarians to be these types of men — priests who are passionately in love with the Lord and who know well the Church and her teachings so they can explain them lovingly to those in need of hearing them.

As rector, your obligations and duties are numerous. How do you maintain your prayer life?

On my ordination day, I made the promise “to unite himself more closely every day to Jesus Christ the High Priest.” Obviously, the primary way this is done is through my prayer, both liturgical and private. How can I, or any priest, shepherd those entrusted to my care, if I do not know well the Good Shepherd?

That daily turning to him cannot be viewed as an option, but is like breathing, just an essential part of my day. My priestly assignments have involved all different types of ministries, including administrative assignments and advanced studies, and the common element of all these assignments is the uniting of myself more closely to Jesus Christ in prayer. This gives reason and meaning to whatever ministry I am involved in.

What advice would you give to a young man thinking of the priesthood?

Pray, asking for assistance in hearing clearly the Lord speaking to you. Ask for the courage to respond, if you are being called. Speak to a priest you admire and trust.

What does it mean for a seminarian to have the chance to study in Rome?

The Catholic bishops of the United States courageously founded the North American College in 1859 as a house of formation and study for the diocesan priesthood in response to an appeal by Pope Pius IX for an American seminary in Rome.

Pope Pius IX believed that bringing men to live in the heart of the Church for priestly formation would provide for the Church in North America happy, healthy and holy priests with a love and appreciation for the Successor of St. Peter; a loyalty to a man’s own ordinary [diocesan bishop], and a unique and broad understanding of the issues the whole world faces in following Christ.

The college has grown over the years to also include not only the formation of seminarians, but also the continuing education of clergy through the Casa Santa Maria, our house for priests engaged in graduate studies at the pontifical universities of Rome, and in the Institute for Continuing Theological Education for priests on sabbaticals.

The mission of all these facets of the college is to bring men who are serving as priests or training to be priests into fuller knowledge of and deeper union with Christ himself and his Church. Of course, this is done in a variety of ways but especially through liturgical and private prayer, intellectual pursuits in an international setting, pastoral and apostolic works, cultural experiences here in Europe and beyond, and community living with some 160 seminarians, 70 priests at the Casa Santa Maria and 70 priests annually in the Institute for Continuing Theological Education.

The present time, I believe, is a particularly good one to spend in Rome. Throughout this first year of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, our seminarians and priests have witnessed anew the importance of being near a man in close conversation with the Lord through the example of our Holy Father. They often hear firsthand the clarity with which he enunciates the teachings of Christ and his Church, which is in part based on that solid relationship the Holy Father has with the Lord himself.

Deacon Raymond Cleaveland

is based in Chicago.