“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” - Matt. 9: 37-38
HIGHLAND – Two seminarians for the Diocese of Gary are heading to Rome, Italy for at least four years of study after formally declaring their intention to study for the priesthood at a Mass celebrating the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders on July 8.
Bishop Robert J. McClory presided at the Mass, hosted by St. James the Less, that featured the declaration by Gianni DiTola and Ryan Pierce, both of whom recently received four-year college degrees in Philosophy from Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn.
Currently immersed in Italian language classes with a tutor at St. Paul in Valparaiso, they will depart later this month for Italy. Arriving in Rome, they will spend about two months in Siena continuing their language studies six hours a day while living with local families before settling in their dormitory in Rome, where classes – all in Italian – will begin in September or October.
Asked by the bishop if they resolve “to prepare yourselves in mind and body to give yourselves to the work of the Church?” the two young men answered a resounding “Yes” during a liturgy attended by their family and friends as well as diocesan supporters that included priests, deacons and members of the Serra Club of Northwest Indiana.
“We are very happy to have many members of the Serra Club with us tonight,” acknowledged Bishop McClory of the ministry that supports vocations to the priesthood and religious life financially and spiritually.
During his homily, the bishop reminded DiTola and Pierce that they are tasked “to complete your preparation so you will be ready to minister in the Catholic Church,” likening them to the laborers the Lord sent into the fields for the harvest in Matthew’s gospel.
“There are few who are ready on a daily basis to go into the fields,” noted Bishop McClory, “cultivating the seed of the gospel in their own hearts in order to share … with those who are in need.”
The bishop implored the two candidates for the priesthood, as well as all the faithful, to pray, “Lord, send me into the harvest.”
The first seminarians to study in Rome in about a dozen years, DiTola and Pierce will attend Pontifical North American College, specifically Gregorian University, one of several institutions available to U.S. seminarians.
“They will have a unique opportunity to study with students from around the world and to be shaped in their love for Holy Mother Church and Pope Leo XIV and to come close to the great saints of Rome, especially Ss. Peter and Paul,” said the bishop.
Father Nathaniel Edquist, diocesan director of vocations and pastor of Holy Family Parish in LaPorte, said the two Diocese of Gary seminarians are scheduled to spend “at least four years studying in Rome, where they will receive Pontifical degrees in Theology, with the possibility of an additional year to pursue specialties.”
He said the assignment “has been in the works for months. The bishop has wanted to do this for some time.”
Father Edquist said diocesan leaders “are confident these men will be able to flourish” in Rome, despite it being “a daunting experience. They won’t come home at all for two years, and had to put a lot of thought into this decision.
“They are two very strong men, very mature, and possess the qualities required for these rigorous studies – which are all in Italian. It’s also much better to be able to send two men in the same class,” he added.
Both of these men very generously accepted these calls (to study in Rome); I called them separately and didn’t tell them I was calling the other one,” explained Bishop McClory. “Father Nate (Edquist) and I will be able to visit them when we co-host a Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrimage to Rome, Sept. 25-Oct. 3. We will have a Mass with Ryan and Gianni and get a tour with them at North American College.”
Earlier fully booked, there are now six open spots for the pilgrimage, added the bishop.
One of those planning to visit Rome “every six months” during her son’s Rome assignment is Hilary DiTola, of St. John, who attended the Rite of Candidacy Mass with her husband Dan DiTola and their family.
She called the declaration “a blessing, very neat to watch.” She said she was reminded of her son at about 10 years old, “when he was worried about whether he should become a priest or marry and have a family. It was in college – he attended Purdue University for a year – when he decided to enter seminary. I know he and Ryan will each have a friend in Italy; they have grown together on their journey.”
While Hilary DiTola is promising to hold off on visiting Rome until her son is “settled in,” Brianna Pierce is steeling herself for her first trip to Rome. “My husband, Ivan, has been to Italy twice, but I don’t like to fly,” she admitted. “People have told me that I should go, and I always said, ‘I’ll go when Ryan goes to Rome,’ so now I’m stuck.”
Saying she is “a very emotional person,” Brianna Pierce explained that she tried to treat the Rite of Candidacy as “any other Mass to stay calm.”
She recalled that her son, a very talented baseball player who won a state championship as a freshman at Boone Grove High School, “went to a few college baseball showcases before he said, ‘That’s not the way I want to live,’ and chose to enter seminary after high school. ‘I’ve played enough baseball to last a lifetime,’ he said then.
“I think he started thinking about the priesthood in eighth grade, when he suffered a ruptured appendix and was very sick. He was septic, and missed five weeks of school, and then he threw himself into altar serving, retreats and prayer,” his mother recalled.
“As a catcher, he had to be a leader and position all the other players, and I think that’s a good quality for a priest, too,” she added.
Ryan Pierce called the Rite of Candidacy Mass “a very beautiful experience … the Lord has been very good to me,” while Gianni DiTola likened his next step to the scripture passage “about Jesus telling Peter to set out in his boat, and after Peter sets out to sea a little, Jesus tells him to go further. Going to Rome is me, going out into the deep.”
Addressing guests at a dinner after the Mass, Pierce said both he and DiTola have been asked if they will come back to the U.S. or be enticed to stay in Rome after their studies. “We will come back,” he stressed. “We will be ordained, God willing, at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary and serve the Diocese of Gary.”
Caption: Father Nathaniel Edquist (left), Diocese of Gary vocations director, Bishop Robert J. McClory (center) and Transitional Deacon Will O’Donnell (right) congratulate seminarians Ryan Pierce (second from left) and Gianni DiTola following the Mass for the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders on July 8 at St. James the Less in Highland. The two seminarians will head to Rome, Italy later this month to continue their studies at the Pontifical North American College. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
