Bernardi Campus offers front row seat to history

Students, staff and faculty at the University of St. Thomas’ Bernardi Campus in Rome this week have a front row seat to history.

It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the Bernardi Campus to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican (in St. Paul, that would be like walking from St. Thomas to the College of St. Catherine) where hundreds of thousands from around the world gathered this past week to pray for Pope John Paul II during his last days and death.

Some are predicting 7 million to 10 million visitors for his funeral Friday, an estimate that includes 2 million Poles alone.

Thanos Zyngas kisses the pope's ring last fall – a gesture of respect.

Things may settle down a bit after the funeral, but the world’s attention again will return to Rome later this month for the papal election. No date has been set yet for the election, or Conclave, when the College of Cardinals will select a new pontiff. By Catholic Canon law, the Conclave must take place no less than 15 days and no more than 20 days after the burial.

Thanos Zyngas, who for the past two years has been director of the Bernardi Campus, said it is possible that when the white smoke appears above the Vatican (the signal that the College of Cardinals has elected a new pope), it might be visible from the St. Thomas campus.

“We can see the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica from our campus,” Zyngas said, “so we might be able to see the smoke. We’ll find out."

“I’ve never experienced anything like this last week or so,” he added. “It absolutely feels like we are participating in history, and I know our students feel the same way.”

Twenty-three students are participating in the Center for Catholic Studies’ Semester in Rome program this spring; 14 are from St. Thomas and nine are from other colleges and universities. The program is led this semester by Dr. Kenneth Kemp, a member of the university’s Philosophy Department.

No one could blame the students if they appear a little drowsy during their classes this week at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. They kept some long hours of vigil at St. Peter’s Square praying for the pope before his death, and some are still there doing so.

Hoping to find a spot near the front of the line to view the body of Pope John Paul, Zyngas and some students arrived at St. Peter’s Basilica at 3 a.m. Monday, but already found a long line. “But like everyone, we waited patiently, and we were able to enter after about three hours.”

Their plan worked, though. Zyngas said that by the time they left St. Peter’s about 6 a.m., there were thousands and thousands waiting in line. “The line overflowed the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square) and went out onto the Via Della Conciliazione, a large boulevard near the Vatican.”

He is thinking about attending the funeral Friday, but he may have to stay back at the Bernardi campus and watch it on television. “I’ve heard that to get anywhere near St. Peter’s Square for the funeral on Friday, you’ll need to get there Thursday night. I know quite a few of our students are planning to attend, though.”

Zyngas said that being in St. Peter’s Square last week was an experience he’ll never forget. “Once it was announced that the pope’s health was failing, thousands began to gather there. I know some of our students stayed in the Piazza all of Friday night and remained there Saturday night until after the Holy Father had died. On Saturday, there were so many people you could not even walk in the area surrounding the Vatican.

“I never saw anything like it. It was crowded, but it wasn’t like being at a crowded rock concert. You’d think that with so many thousands in a small area like that there would be some disorderly behavior. There was none of that,” he recalled. “It was an atmosphere of praying, chanting, singing and charity.

“We were all there for the same reasons. There were Roman natives, tourists, pilgrims, students, priests and nuns, families with babies, and news cameras everywhere. People were holding candles, Bibles, prayer books and pictures of the Holy Father. It wasn’t something that was organized, people just showed up.

“Some people gathered in circles. I remember one group of young Italians in a circle; they began singing, and soon others joined their circle too.

“And when the pope died Saturday, there were tears and crying. It was very sad.

“And they kept coming and coming and coming. We’d pray and sing and talk to each other. People would ask where you are from and how you got there.”

Zyngas could provide several answers to that one. He could have said he just came down Viale Delle Milizie, one of the boulevards students take when walking from the Bernardi Campus to the Vatican. Or he could have said from St. Paul, where he worked for St. Thomas in Residence Life from 1996 until his move to Rome in 2003. Or he could have said Cyprus, the Mediterranean island where he was born.

For now, he “absolutely” is enjoying his work at the Bernardi Campus, learning new skills and immersing himself in another culture. He’s also pretty busy, with a full house of about 40 guests, including the students, this week at the residential campus. Some of the guests are former students who studied in the Catholic studies programs.

“You can really tell there are a lot of people in Rome right now,” he said. “But while it is crowded, the city is still functioning. People are still going to work. Our students are still going to classes.

“It’s a beautiful time of the year here now. It’s a little cool, so you need a light jacket, and it’s a good idea to carry an umbrella. But the spring flowers are beginning to bloom, and it’s very nice. Throughout the city they have changed many of the billboards. Instead of advertising clothing or furniture, the billboards now have different pictures of Pope Paul II with the words, ‘Grazie Papa’ or ‘Thank you, Holy Father.’ ”