Study in Rome this summer at the University of Dallas' campus in the Alban Hills overlooking the Eternal City.

This Program will offer students the opportunity to earn credit hours while spending two weeks on the University of Dallas' beautiful Rome campus.

To Rome for Everything

by Mary Lynne Hill, Ph.D.

In the classic work, Don Quixote, the author, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, declares, “To Rome, for everything.” Next summer, the University of Dallas School of Ministry will animate Cervantes’ words when it offers the opportunity for an awe-inspiring engagement with the Eternal City. From June 2-12, 2010, a limited number of students will have the chance to participate in the School of Ministry’s graduate study abroad program.

As Brian Schmisek, Ph.D., dean of the School of Ministry, states, “Our summer Rome program is unique with daily Mass, the campus setting in the Alban Hills, and visits to the city. Professional scholars and teachers lead the tours with insight, knowledge, and a true love of Rome. Each day is punctuated with authentic Italian meals, intelligent conversation, evening wine, and intense spirituality. No other experience will compare with this.”

While living in the historic setting of Due Santi in the Alban Hills, students have the opportunity to take, for credit or to audit, three different courses: New Testament taught by the Rev. Patrick Madden, Ph.D.; The Rome of Peter and Paul taught by Dean Schmisek; and Theological Reflection taught by Dan Luby, S.T.D. Faculty will integrate tours of appropriate sites into their courses, including visits to: St. Peter’s Basilica; the tomb of St. Peter; the Vatican Museums; the Colosseum; the Pantheon; St. Mary Major; St. John Lateran; and the sites of St. Paul’s martyrdom and burial. The trip also includes a Papal audience.

Rev. Bill Burns, of the Archdiocese of Toronto, reflected on his Roman summer as a time of profound connection. “Connecting to the roots of my faith through the exploration of Scripture and the Eternal City made it a wonderful time of integration. Our easy access to knowledgeable resource people and the faith filled community that formed made the experience a resource from which I still draw inspiration.”

Another former participant, Tammy Amosson, also continues to draw inspiration from the experience, sharing that she is "still in awe of the incredible theological, academic and spiritual experience I was afforded while studying in Rome with the School of Ministry--a pilgrimage of faith, walking in the iconic footsteps of Peter and Paul on the Appian Way."

Dr. Luby reinforces Amosson’s idea of the program as pilgrimage. “Theological reflection requires an attitude of pilgrimage, an approach to life and faith that is observant, open to new insights, in search of new connections. I can’t think of a more fruitful setting for a course in theological reflection than an actual pilgrimage. To be making it in one of the most beautiful, historic, and charming places in the world is a blessing on top of a blessing.”

John Norris, Ph.D., associate professor of Theology at the University of Dallas, is coordinating the 2010 program, the base cost of which is $1,995, excluding tuition and airfare. Discounts are available for early registration (due date: November 1, 2009), for alumni, and for parish groups with over five participants. Evenings and weekends are available for students to explore Italian life at their own pace.

Dr. Norris reminds one that “studying and praying in Rome with the School of Ministry is an extraordinary chance to fill your soul and spirit … The Catholic faith is fundamentally sacramental and communal, and in Rome we touch, hear, and see the sites that bore witness to the glories and trials of our sisters and brothers in the faith, descending to the dark dank dungeon where Peter and Paul may have been held before their martyrdom … walking in procession with Pope Benedict on the feast of Corpus Christi, treading the same roads that pilgrims have processed along for centuries. No one can participate in this program and remain unmoved.”

For more information about Summer in Rome 2010, please contact us at (800) 447-4777, or locally at (972) 265-5814, or just click Summer in Rome in the right column. You may also send your inquires to ministry@udallas.edu. If you are interested in information about the Univeristy of Dallas' other summer program offerings, please go here or here to learn about our summer programs for adults.