Bishop tells of ad limina visit

Bishop McManus along with Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford and the other bishops of the dioceses throughout New England, comprised the first group of American bishops to make an ‘ad limina’ visit to the Holy See, in early November. It was their first official visit with Pope Francis. (Transcription by Raymond L. Delisle, Chancellor and Director of Communications)

What is an ‘ad limina’?

“Ad limina apostolorum” literally means to the threshold of the apostles. It refers to a periodic official visit which all bishops make to Rome. Six months before we meet with the Holy Father and the heads of the Roman Curia, or departments, we prepare what is called a quinquennial report. It’s called a quinquennial report because ideally this occurs every five years (quinquennial comes from Latin for five years). In order to prepare for it, the Vatican secretary of state’s office sends us an outline with at least 15 topics to which we are replying in that report. 

Our last visit as American bishops was actually in 2011 with Pope Benedict XVI. This is my third quinquennial visit and, of the three, I would say this was the best. The first one was shortly after I arrived in Worcester in 2004 and I was accompanied by Bishop Reilly. That visit was with Pope John Paul II and, at that point in his life, the Holy Father was suffering greatly as his health was debilitating. At that visit, Bishop Reilly and I sat across the desk from Pope John Paul II and he was amazingly aware of my background, and what was going on in our diocese. 

What is the purpose of the quinquennial visit or ‘ad limina’?

The first purpose of the visit is to celebrate Mass at the four major basilicas in Rome. We began at St. Peter’s Basilica at which St. Peter is buried then at St. Paul Outside the Walls which is, of course, the burial site for St. Paul. We then visited St. John Lateran which many people don’t realize is actually the cathedral church of the Holy Father. It gave us an opportunity as bishops to express our unity with the Holy Father. 

Finally, we celebrated Mass at St. Mary Major, which was built about 20 years after the Council of Ephesus convened in 431 A.D. At that council, Mary was proclaimed “Theotokos” or Mother of God and so we visit there in thanksgiving for that teaching from the council. 

All this made for a very challenging schedule given that these Masses were typically at 7 or 7:30 in the morning, followed by meetings which began at 9:30 with the congregations, or dicasteries, and we had to deal with Roman traffic, which can be very challenging, to say the least. 

The second purpose of the quinquennial visit was to visit the various offices of the Roman Curia, or dicasteries, which are the different departments that make up the Holy See. Also known as congregations, there are about 15 or 16. We had to visit, as a group of bishops, at least the following four: the Secretary of State, the Congregation for the Bishops, the Congregation for the Clergy, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Then there are eight congregations that the group of bishops visited, whether an individual bishop could attend or not. Finally, the remaining congregations are optional, based on the concerns of the individual bishop.  

The third reason for the “ad limina apostolorum” was obviously to meet with the Holy Father. We met as a group of Region 1 bishops and he had an opportunity to ask us questions and talk about common issues as a region, and we had a chance to ask questions as well.

What were the visits to the various congregations like? 

The first one that we visited was the Congregation for Bishops, which is headed up by Cardinal Mark Ouelette, a Canadian Sulpician. It makes sense that we start in that congregation because we are a college of bishops. As a matter of fact, there are about 4,100 bishops worldwide and we say in Latin that we are “cum Petro et sub Petro” or, “with Peter and under Peter.” We assist first of all in our responsibility for our own local dioceses, but we also have a responsibility to help the pope as Holy Father in his oversight of the worldwide Church, whether through synods or councils. It is important that we understand that sense of collegiality. It was also interesting that the tenor of the meetings was similar in each one. It was as if everyone had gotten a memo from Pope Francis to these offices that might have said, “Don’t do all the talking; let the bishops do the talking.” This contributed greatly to why I thought it was the best of my three ad limina visits.

A major concern that was voiced at all of these different congregations or dicasteries was the lack of unity that is seemingly happening within the church, a polarization in the church much like we are experiencing in our society. At the end of each of these meetings the prefect would ask us to please pray for the Holy Father and to pray for unity within the church. Cardinal Ouellette also gave a very passionate and beautiful reflection about the missionary discipleship that we are all called to by our baptism and it was a plea really to all of the local bishops and the local dioceses. 

Cardinal Ouellette also raised the issue of celibacy, given the way it was being covered in the media following the Synod on the Amazon. He made it clear to us that there is no change in the Church’s teaching on celibacy and that it was being blown out of proportion. So much about this topic has been very difficult. Given his background in seminary teaching, like my own background as rector of a seminary, it was very important to him that this message about celibacy get clarified because it can cause great confusion in seminaries and in vocations discernment around the world. Pope Francis himself has also made it clear that celibacy will continue. 

Another striking difference about this visit compared to past visits, especially my first one, is the amount of technology that is now available to assist in communicating at these meetings, which typically last about two hours. 

The meetings are conducted in Italian and there are translators available to be able to provide simultaneous translation. At each of these meetings at a congregation, one of the bishops of our region was selected to be what is called a “relator,” namely, the one who would present the questions on behalf of the assembled bishops. At the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith I was chosen to be the relator simply because I am on the Doctrine Committee of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Bishop (Robert) Deeley (of Portland, Maine) also spoke at that one. While I handled theological issues, he raised the canonical issues, especially those concerning the most recent letter from Pope Francis, “Vos Estes Lux Mundi,” which deals with the accountability of bishops on the issue of sexual abuse of minors around the world.

Another issue that we spoke about was the role of diocesan bishops in healthcare ministry, given the many mergers that are taking place in this country involving Catholic and non-Catholic healthcare institutions. Much of this discussion related to a document that was written some years ago about the pastoral role of bishops in healthcare ministry, which has been going through discussions at the USCCB. We need a more pertinent document to guide bishops in this role, not just within the diocese but also how to deal with the ramifications of national mergers.

In our discussions with the Congregation for the Clergy, we were talking about our program of priestly formation, which has been passed in the U.S. in its sixth edition and that will now be going through a review with the Holy See before we can get final approval. One of the things that was stressed was the importance of human formation. I’ve often referred to the document by Pope John Paul II called “Pastores Dabo Vobis” on the formation of priests for the contemporary world. It talks about the four pillars of human of formation that should be present throughout the seminary formation, namely human, spiritual, academic, and pastoral. And as he says in that document “humanity must be a bridge rather than a stumbling block.” One other issue that this congregation is responsible for includes the closing and merging of parishes and our discussions revolved around the reality that in the United States there are no public funds available for maintaining church buildings, unlike many western European countries.

What was it like meeting with Pope Francis?

I have remarked to many people that it was sometimes like talking with your grandfather and that he would give you an answer and then he would pause and reflect on what his grandmother would say or do in certain circumstances. It was a very honest and thoughtful discussion with him. It was very fraternal and he was focused on all the things that we brought up at the meeting. After 2 1/2 hours, the meeting concluded and even at that point he greeted each one of us individually as we left the meeting. I thought about how grueling this kind of schedule can be and the individual focus that he gave us for someone who will be 83 in December. 

Why was this important for all of us in the diocese?

It’s important to remember that we are a universal church. Even though we have individual dioceses which are also called particular churches, they are not independent of each other. The whole experience for the bishops meeting with the Holy Father and the Roman curia is an opportunity for expressing our Catholic communion; we are in union with the Holy Father. We are all part of this Communion of faith, hope and charity.

Photo by Raymond L. Delisle | Communications ministry

Bishop McManus joins Sister of Mercy Ellen Guerin at the catechetical leaders’ luncheon Nov. 21, where he gave a talk about the ad limina visit to Rome. She was recognized for her years of catechetical leadership, having retired earlier this year from Christ the King Parish.