Preghiamo, tutti!

As I write this, I'm at JFK International.  I just finished giving a couple of talks at a Deacon Convocation nearby, and now I'm preparing for a flight to Rome later this afternoon.  I ask for your prayers as my colleagues and I finalize some details for a new graduate Institute of Advanced Studies on the Diaconate in Rome.

The Institute will bring together scholars from all over the world who will teach graduate courses on every aspect of diakonia and diaconate.  Archeologists, theologians of every specialization, canon lawyers, and so on are all welcome.  Each course will involve extensive preparatory work, often online, before coming to Rome for a one-week long intensive seminar.  Each student will then prepare a research paper after Rome.  The opportunity in Rome will include lectures offered at the appropriate pontifical university (for example, courses on the spirituality of diakonia would be offered at the Teresianum), the opportunity for fellowship and social interaction with students from around the world, and access to significant research materials available in Rome and the Vatican.

The three "founders" of the Institute include a deacon-professor from Italy, another from the Netherlands, and myself.  The Institute has already been granted an official "recognitio" from the Holy See, so the courses will be offered for credit either through the professor's home university, or through the Lateranum.

I'll post as I can over the next week, but for now I simply ask for your prayers!