Greetings from Rome where Bishop Garcia and I are making our official visit “Ad Limina Apostolorum,” to the threshold of the Apostles. Praying at the very sites made holy by the martyrdom and burial of the great apostles Peter and Paul is always a deeply moving experience for me when I visit Rome.

As a group, 26 bishops of Region XI (California, Nevada, and Hawaii) offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass together at the tomb of St. Peter in the lower level of the basilica on Monday morning, May 10. We did the same as a group at the tomb of St. Paul in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Thursday, May 13. In each case, we signed a special register to confirm that we had fulfilled that part of our Ad Limina obligation.

Made every five years by the diocesan bishops (it has been five years and eight months this time), the Ad Limina visit is also a visit to the present day Peter, Pope John Paul II. While each bishop is a successor of the apostles and each diocese embodies the fullness of the Church, Peter and the See of Rome hold the primacy and forge the bond of communion between the churches. The “particular churches” (dioceses), in union with Rome, form the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” Church. As Bishop of Sacramento, I am privileged to renew our bond of communion with the successor of Peter.

Bishop Garcia and I had our private audience with the Holy Father on Thursday, May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. This was the very day in 1981 when Pope John Paul II was shot. After a warm greeting, we briefly referred to the significance of the day, to which he simply smiled and nodded. Then we discussed Northern California and the Diocese of Sacramento in broad strokes: the large geographic area, the growing population, the ethnic diversity, our mountains, lakes, and skiing, our large agricultural base, etc.

We thanked the Holy Father for the Jubilee of Jesus Christ in 2000 and noted the general vitality of our diocese, our pastoral planning process and our preparation for our first Diocesan Synod in 75 years. In reply to his questions, we spoke of our evangelization and vocation efforts, the spiritual health of our people and our hope to do an ever better job in teaching and handing on the Catholic faith.

We noted that Sacramento is named for the Blessed Sacrament and thanked the Pope for his recent encyclical on the Eucharist. We expressed our encouragement of the Holy Father and conveyed the love and appreciation of the Catholic people of the Diocese of Sacramento. We also congratulated him on his 25th anniversary as Pope last October. He thanked us and then went on to ask about our priests and religious.

The 10 minutes went by all too quickly. With cameras flashing, the Holy Father gave us each a packet of rosaries and holy cards. Fathers Oscar Figueroa and Loreto Rojas, seminarians Chris Frazer and Jeremy Leatherby, all of whom belong to Sacramento and are studying in Rome, and my brother, Brother Francis Weigand, OSB, were ushered in to meet and have a picture with the Holy Father, after which we said farewell and departed.

On Friday, May 14, the Bishops of Region XI had a group audience with the Holy Father, at which time the Pope addressed us briefly and handed each of us a beautiful pectoral cross and a copy of his formal message (allocutio) to our group of U. S. bishops. The series of these addresses to groups of U.S. bishops during 2004 forms the Pope’s complete message to the bishops of the United States. His message to our group focused on the call to holiness.

As the Holy Father was about to exit the Sala Clementina, where the group audience took place, he turned back toward us, clasped his hands together and raised both arms above his head ñ as if to say, “carry on and don’t get discouraged.” It was one of those wordless moments that speak more eloquently than words.

We have had other activities in Rome, also. For example, on May 10, we met with officials of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments. On May 11, we met with officials of the Congregation for Bishops and the Secretariat of State. On May 12, we met with officials of the Congregation for the Clergy and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. On May 13, we met with officials of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. On May 14, we met with officials of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. For the most part, these Vatican officials were all very positive about the Church in the United States.

In addition, on May 10, we had a reception with the Honorable James Nicholson, the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, at his residence. We had Masses, meetings and dinner at the North American College (our U.S. seminary in Rome) and at Casa Santa Maria (our U.S. graduate house for priests doing higher studies). We visited with our U.S. priests and bishops who work in Rome and live at Villa Stritch. And much more. It was a busy and fruitful time.

And what of the Pope’s health? Well, he has deteriorated very noticeably since we last saw him in 1998. He is not able to walk much, as you know, and needs to be wheeled along. The vigor has gone from his speech and gestures. He is bent over more than ever. But he keeps going and his mind and memory are good. Actually, the Pope seems to be better now than he was last fall. And he still keeps a grueling schedule.

I would say that the Pope is increasingly a transparent instrument of God. Physically, he is very limited, yet radiates the presence and power of God. The Holy Father is a good role model for the elderly and infirm and a wonderful witness to the sacredness and value of all human life, regardless of disabilities and limitations. What a gift Pope John Paul II continues to be for our Church and the world! I am proud to be his collaborator in the College of Bishops.

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