MONMOUTH, Ill. — Five lucky Monmouth College students experienced the rare thrill of touching the Pope’s hand on a college-sponsored winter break trip to Rome Jan. 8-15.

Seniors Russell Bold of Mount Morris and Jason Rittenhouse of Geneseo, juniors Lisa Adams of McHenry and Richard Harrod of Annapolis, Md., and sophomore Jennifer Scott of Midlothian found themselves in the right place at the right time for the Pope’s “Weekly Audience” on Jan. 11.

Each Wednesday, 8,000 spectators attend the 90-minute event, which is covered by the Eternal World Television Network. The Pope delivers a short five- or 10-minute message in several different languages, and transcripts and videos are available on the www.ewtn.com Web site.

By leaving their hotel at 6 a.m., patiently waiting more than three hours on a chilly Italian day and heeding advice on where best to stand, the students were in prime position to offer their hand to Pope Benedict XVI as he made his way to the stage.

“The Bishop of Peoria, Daniel Jenky, helped us get tickets,” explained MC faculty Tom Sienkewicz, who led the 26-student trip along with colleague Cheryl Meeker. “We wrote him and asked for his help, and there were tickets waiting for us when we got there. I know that everyone who attended the Papal Audience is very grateful for all the help that Bishop Jenky provided to make this possible.”

Not only were Monmouth’s students early, but they were also organized. They came up with a cheer to shout when their group was announced during the session.

“It’s a weird thing,” said Sienkewicz. “The American tendency in that type of situation is to be very quiet and very respectful, but we had to educate them otherwise.”

The cheer went “Mon what?/Monmouth, Pope who?/Benedict, Viva what?/Il papa,” with each line being repeated three times.

“The Pope acknowledged our cheer with a wave of his hand,” said Sienkewicz, who added that many other groups were also recognized, including students from another Associated Colleges of the Midwest member, St. Olaf.

“What the students and I talked about was that this meant they were all just so many handshakes away from Jesus,” said Sienkewicz, who then did a quick Internet search that showed there have been 265 popes. “The thrill for me was seeing the sheer joy that the students felt. That was more important to me than touching the Pope myself. They really, really got excited.”

“I never thought I could have experienced something so powerful and touching,” said Scott. “Being Catholic and actually touching the highest living power of my religion, the one who spreads the word of the Lord and is looked up to by almost one-third of the world, was amazing.”

She added, “Seeing the whole Papal Audience and all of the people who were so moved by this experience, just as I was, was an experience in itself. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event that will stay with me forever.”

Adams, who is also Catholic, said, “Shaking the Pope’s hand was electrifying. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was amazing! I wouldn’t trade that moment for the world. It was unbelievable, and words can’t describe it.”

Other highlights of the trip to Rome included visits to the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and many churches, including St. Peter in Chains, Santa Maria Maggiore and San Clemente. The group also took a day trip to the archaeological site of Ostia, the port of ancient Rome.

“For the benefit of international business students on the trip, a representative of Erricson gave a presentation on the cell phone industry in Italy,” added Sienkewicz. “Students also visited Italiaidea, a private Italian language school in Rome, to learn about the challenges of running a small business of this sort in Italy.”

While cell phones seem to be the way of the future, five Monmouth College students can confirm there’s no substitute for really reaching out and touching someone, especially when that someone is the Pope.

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330