Rome 2027 Ordination to the Priesthood

Plan the trip

Details & Itinerary

The details below are subject to change. I'll keep this page updated as we get closer to the date. The dates, times, and locations for the two ordinations are already established though — six months apart at the same location.

Saturday, 22 May 2027

Priestly ordination

Here is the rough plan for the weekend.

  • Sat 22 May
    10:00 AM

    Priestly ordination

    The ordination Mass itself, celebrated at the Basilica di Sant’Eugenio — the same church as the diaconal ordination six months earlier.

    Basilica di Sant’Eugenio, Viale delle Belle Arti 10, 00196 Roma · map

  • Sat afternoon

    Luncheon reception at Cavabianca

    Cavabianca is the international center of studies of Opus Dei just north of Rome, where I have lived for the past five years — a beautiful complex of open lawns and architecture that evokes the small Italian towns of the Apennines.

    Cavabianca, Via di Grottarossa 1375, 00189 Roma RM · map

  • Sat evening

    Open — explore Rome

    Saturday evening I will celebrate in Cavabianca with the other priests who have been ordained and with the rest of the crew that lives there. It's a good chance to plan your own dinner in Rome — perhaps with other people coming for the ordination.

  • Sun morning

    Possible First Mass to be confirmed

    I hope to celebrate my first Mass with family and friends present. Time and place are not yet fixed — details will follow here as soon as they are established.

  • Sun noon

    Angelus with Pope Leo XIV

    The Holy Father leads the Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace every Sunday at noon. St. Peter’s Square is a short walk or taxi ride from most hotels in Rome, and it is free and open to everyone.

    St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City · map

  • Sun evening

    Dinner with family and friends to be confirmed

    We will aim to organize a celebratory dinner on Sunday evening (or, possibly, lunch on Sunday afternoon). Venue and time to follow.

If you can add extra days

Please add them after the ordination weekend, Monday through Wednesday, rather than before. I will have more flexibility to see you after the ordination itself.

Saturday, 21 November 2026

Diaconal ordination

A step on the way to the priesthood, six months earlier, at the same church and the same hour. If May doesn’t work for you, you are just as welcome in November.

  • Sat 21 Nov
    10:00 AM

    Diaconal ordination

    This date, time, and church are confirmed.

    Basilica di Sant’Eugenio, Viale delle Belle Arti 10, 00196 Roma · map

  • The Rest of the Weekend

    Similar to the priestly ordination weekend to be confirmed

    We are still working on plans for the weekend of the diaconate ordination. The itinerary will be similar to that of the priestly ordination.

Practicalities

Visiting Rome

Getting there

Most international flights land at Fiumicino (FCO), about 40 minutes from central Rome by taxi or the Leonardo Express train.

Where to stay

Prati, just north of the Vatican, is calm, residential, and walkable to St. Peter’s. The area around Santa Maria Maggiore, near the main train station, is another good, well-connected base with easy access to the historic center. I have had good experiences with Airbnb.

A few things to see in two or three days...

St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums; the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the historic center around Piazza Navona; the Colosseum and Roman Forum; an evening in Trastevere; and one of the four papal basilicas beyond St. Peter’s — St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, or Santa Maria Maggiore.

The facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in warm afternoon light.
Santa Maria Maggiore, one of Rome’s four papal basilicas.

Questions? Send me an email!

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