Summer 2008 in Rome

Words from Ellen, a 2006 Summer Romer:

This educational experience affected me more profoundly than I could have ever imagined. When in Rome, I was a pilgrim on a holy journey. This took me by surprise. I had embarked on the trip with thoughts of education and vacation in my head. I did not anticipate that it would be such an overwhelmingly sacred experience. I did not expect to have such feelings of awe, nor so many emotional responses. The visits to the various sites were very much of a "felt" experience. I experienced Rome through my senses and my emotions and because of this I absorbed more than I could have ever learned through a traditional classroom experience alone. I was able to stand in the middle of it all; see ancient sites; and smell, taste and feel the damp, dank air of excavations. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then celebrating mass at the crypt of St. Peter, the Scavi Tour, standing in the Colosseum, San Clemente, the catacombs, and walking the ancient Appian Way surely must equal a million. Visiting each of the tour sites was for me something like the experience of playing the game of "connect the dots." At each site, I was able to tie more things together, to see and experience the connections.

First Term (June 1- June 21)

The base cost of the first term ($2995) includes room, meals, land transportation, tickets for attractions and museums, required Italian documents.

Participants may choose one or two classes from the following six:
• New Testament
• Paul’s Letter to the Romans
• Church History (course cancelled for this term)
• Saints: Their Lives and Iconography
• Liturgy and Sacraments
• Gospel of Mark

Download the First Term Itinerary Now

Second Term (June 25 - July 5)

The base cost of the second term ($1795) includes room, meals, land transportation, tickets for attractions and museums, and required Italian documents.

Participants may choose one class from the following three:

• New Testament
• Church History
• Liturgy and Sacraments

Download the Second Term Itinerary Now

The University of Dallas Due Santi Campus

Power Point presentation of photos from the Rome Summer Institute

Click the Due Santi Rome Campus photo for a power point presentation of the Summer Program.

Diagrams of the campus and student suite floor plans

Actual Photographs:

Sites you will see include:

• St. Peter's Basilica
  
  
• The tomb of St. Peter
  
  
• The Colosseum
• Inside the Colosseum
  
  
• The Catacombs of Domitilla
  
  The site of St. Paul's Martyrdom
  
  
• The site of St. Paul's burial
  
  
• St. Mary Major
  
  
• St. John Lateran
  
  
• The Pantheon
  
  
• The Vatican Museums
  
  
• And much, much more, including whatever you have planned for yourself on nights and weekends.

Course Descriptions

New Testament

This course explores the themes, messages, and theologies of the New Testament, with "field trips" to St. Peter's Basilica, St. Paul's outside the walls, the catacombs, the Colosseum, the house church of St. Clement, and other sites significant for the study of the New Testament in Rome. The New Testament truly comes alive while we study it in the city of Peter and Paul.

Paul's Letter to the Romans

Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in the winter of A.D. 57/58. In it he develops his theology of justification by faith. This course will ponder the theme, insights, and theology of the letter. We will take advantage of the surroundings by examining the first century milieu in which the letter was written. We will also explore the impact the letter has had on the history of Western Christianity, including the Protestant Reformation and the counter-Reformation.

Church History

From the infancy of the Roman Christian church of the first century to the 21st century papacy of Benedict XVI, including the Constantine era, Reformation, Vatican II, and more, this course examines the living, breathing history of the church from the unique vantage point of Rome.

Saints: Their Lives and Iconography:

This course will examine the development of Catholic devotion to the saints and Mary, from the time of St. Peter up to the present day. We will study the lives of the saints, liturgical and extra-liturgical practices of devotion to the saints, and the iconography of the saints in the rich environs of Rome. We will end with an examination of the current process of canonization, post-Vatican II visions of the sanctity of the laity, and recent saints added to Catholic canon.

Liturgy and Sacraments

This course examines the complicated theological, religious, and cultural origins of the liturgy and the sacraments. We will analyze how these elements developed and changed in response to the needs of the Church communities at the time. Finally we will look at the liturgy and sacraments in our own day and envision how the Church can respond pastorally to our own times and how it might respond in the future. Our tours of Rome will offer a remarkable chance to see this liturgical history in living stone, right in the heart of Christendom.

The Gospel of Mark

Mark’s Gospel is thought to have been the first written. Its audience was probably Roman Christians who had experienced severe persecution under Nero. Participants in the course will delve into the gospel and consider its historical setting, its portrait of Jesus, and its attempt to apply the message of Jesus to a (then) contemporary situation, first-century Rome. The class will be highlighted by trips to sites significant for the study of early Christianity in Rome.

Contact Information

972.721.4118
888-447-4777
972-815-2432 fax
ministry@udallas.edu
School of Ministry

Costs and other information

Departure Point Travel is arranging group airfare for this trip. For more information please contact them at (703) 242-4203; (800) 764-6836; departurepoint@aol.com

Participants are responsible for securing a current U.S. Passport.

Base cost presumes double occupancy in a two-room suite with a shared bath and weekly room cleaning. Tuition and airfare are not included.

Graduate tuition for the 2008-2009 academic year is $630 per credit hour plus $20 per hour course fee. Audit participation is also welcome. Audit rates are $630 per course, plus $20 per course fee.

Discounts* are available:
5% discount for University of Dallas alumni
5% discount for early registration (by November 1, 2007)**
5% discount for each of five or more participants from a parish
10% discount for each of ten or more participants from a parish

*Discount applies only to the base cost, not to tuition.
** A completed application form and a $500 deposit are required for registration.