LATROBE, PA – A group of students taking part in Saint Vincent College’s annual Summer Institute in Rome had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, May 18.
While attending Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass was not initially on the agenda, the opportunity was too good to pass up. Some of the students arrived at the Piazza of Saint Peter’s before the sun was up in order to find a good spot. They were able to see the Pope arrive in his Popemobile and formally begin his pontificate.
In his homily, Pope Leo called for unity to overcome the “many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.” This message resonates with the goals of the Saint Vincent’s Summer Institute, which is sponsored by the college’s Center for Catholic Thought and Culture.
The Summer Institute is directed by Dr. Jerome Foss, professor of politics in the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government and endowed director of the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture (CCTC), who also teaches Roman Political Thought as part of the program. Other instructors include Dr. Jeannine Pitas, assistant professor of English in the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, who will teach the “Aeneid”; Dr. Daniel Vanden Berk, associate professor of physics in the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing, who will teach Galileo and the Rise of Modern Science; and Dr. Elizabeth Lev, a renowned art historian, who will teach Christian Art in the City of Rome. Samantha Firestone, C’17, G’19, coordinator for the CCTC and head women’s and men’s golf coach, is also in attendance and serves as the coordinator for the trip.
The group departed from Latrobe on May 15 and will be returning home on June 16. The students not only do as the Romans when in Rome, but they also study history, science, literature and art. Their classes combine book learning in the classroom with the sights, sounds and tastes of the city. While the students will spend most of the month in Rome, seeing such things as the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, and much else, they’ll also visit Florence, Assisi, Subiaco and Montecasino.
Students on this year’s trip include Benjamin Poole, junior accounting major from Murrysville; Cory Kendal, C’19, former politics major currently pursuing a graduate degree in criminology at SVC; Bradley Heinbaugh, sophomore business administration major from Irwin; Miriam Tate, Chaely Raynor, sophomore data science major from Cleveland, OH; Stephen Foss, sophomore business administration major from Latrobe; Jacob McFeely, sophomore biology major from Pittsburgh; and Mariano Jimenez Rojas, senior finance – investment management major from Latrobe.
The Summer Institute is primarily for Saint Vincent students, but applications are accepted from students at other colleges as well. For more information, please visit https://www.stvincent.edu/academics/special-programs/summer-institute-in-rome.html.
From left: Benjamin Poole, Cory Kendal, Miriam Tate, Bradley Heinbaugh, Miriam Tate, Chaely Raynor, Stephen Foss, Jacob McFeely, Mariano Jimenez Rojas
