Ad Limina Apostolorum visit

All the bishops, bishop-elect and diocesan administrators of Ecclesiastical Region VIII, that is, the 10 dioceses in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota of the Province of St. Paul and Minneapolis, gathered in Rome by Sunday, Jan. 12 to begin this most important visit to meet with Our Holy Father and report on the status of our dioceses.
 
However, this is so much more than something like a series of business meetings. At the heart of the visit is the pilgrimage we bishops make to the tombs of the Princes of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, and the meeting with the Holy Father. In this article, I will try to recap for you some highlights of our visit between January 13-17.
 
First, a brief history of this visit. The tradition of this visit can be traced back at least to the Pontificate of Pope St. Leo III who died in 816 A.D. The basic structure of this visit has remained unchanged; each bishop makes a spiritual pilgrimage to the thresholds (limina) or tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul and has a visit with the Pope to offer him a report on his diocese and renew his obedience and loyalty to the Vicar of Christ and Successor to St. Peter, and to meet with other members of the Vatican Curia.
 
At the present, this visit is required of every diocesan bishop and is to be made every five years or whenever the Holy Father asks for it to be made. In fact, the very detailed report prepared on the status of Catholic life in each diocese is called that diocese’s “Quinquennial Report,” reflecting that five-year period. Of course, the Holy Father can change this time and, in fact, when Pope Benedict XVI was elected in 2005, he deferred the scheduled visits. So, when Bishop Zipfel and I went for our visit, it ended up being in March of 2012 and our report for Bismarck covered the calendar years of 2004 through 2010. Thus, this just-completed visit covered the calendar years of 2011 through 2018.
 
As you may imagine, a great deal of work went into preparing our report of eight years and was done by our diocesan staff whom I had asked to assist me so we could give a complete picture of Catholic life in our Diocese; and I am most grateful for their work. 
 
Let me give you a brief description of our schedule for the week. We had Mass at each of the four Major Basilicas and spent time in silent prayer at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. With me at our beautiful Masses were our two priests studying in Rome, Frs. Frank Schuster and Doug Krebs, and I was so pleased that all of our seminarians were able to be present for most of these Masses as well. Our six seminarians at the North American College, where we bishops stayed, are Rev. Mr. Christian Smith, Nick Vetter, Jake Magnuson, Grant Dvorak, Josh Hill and Steven Vetter, and two of our college seminarians, Eric Artz and Colton Steiner were finishing their semester in Rome and would return to St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul. An added gift was Our Holy Father’s great generosity in allowing me to bring all of them to meet him on Monday morning before we bishops had our private meeting with him.
 
On Monday, we began with Mass at the tomb of St. Peter in the crypt of the Basilica and then prayed together the Creed at his tomb as a public affirmation of our fidelity to Christ, His Church and to Peter’s Successor. Then, we were taken to our meeting with the Holy Father which began at 10:30 and did not end until 1:05! While I don’t have enough space to recount everything, let me say that Our Holy Father Francis was most gracious to us. He began our meeting by saying that he wanted us to have a conversation “because we are all brother bishops” so we are free to say what we wish and to ask any question. The time was so well spent for me as I came away truly renewed in my faith and hope and my resolve to faithfully care for all of you to the best of my abilities. The one thing I will not forget is what Our Holy Father said several times in our meeting. It is absolutely essential for me to pray throughout the day for you, for our priests, deacons and religious and for myself. He told us that he does this even if it is just for a few minutes at a time. 
 
The rest of Monday and through Friday, our Masses were celebrated at the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. The rest of those days were filled with meetings at more than a dozen congregations and councils. It was clear to me that our reports had been read and those with whom we met listened carefully to our questions and concerns and gave us clear answers and advice, all of which will be helpful in the coming months.
 
During the week, I was able to take our priests and seminarians out to eat a few times and we had some time just to visit so that I could tell them what’s happening here at home and they could tell me how they were engaged in their studies and priestly formation. It was a very good week.
 
While there is much more to tell, I will stop here. I ask you to pray daily for Our Holy Father Francis. I know he prays for all of us.