Eighty-five undergraduates from the University of Dallas already had a front seat to history.
Eighty-five undergraduates from the University of Dallas already had a front seat to history.
Eighty-five undergraduates from the University of Dallas already had a front seat to history.
DALLAS — Studying abroad is a unique opportunity for college students. But for Dallas-area students in Rome right now, being witnesses to history has enriched that experience even more.
Students from the University of Dallas already had a front seat to history. Eighty-five undergraduates are currently enrolled in the Catholic university’s Rome Program, where they study literature, archaeology, history, philosophy, and theology on the very streets that theology first walked.
But with the death of Pope Francis, their studies and an entire city changed.
“It has disrupted everything, in the best way possible,” said Ron Rombs, PhD, Associate Professor of Theology, Dean & Director, UD Rome Program.
What the dean of the school’s Rome program means by that is that students like Estella Dermody, Beatrice Ellison, Anna Serrano, and Elinor True are watching a world pay tribute to their religious leader. Classmates have even joined the tens of thousands in the hours-long lines to bid Pope Francis goodbye.
“I’ve learned a lot about my faith being here and now history is happening, it’s very interesting,” said Estella Dermody.
“It’s really nice to see how respected he was even by those outside of the church,” added Anna Serrano.
And all of this is happening as the students study for final exams.
“It’s this really important moment in history. Things are changing,” said Elinor True. “But at the same time, we have to keep studying for our classes and going to lectures and I think that kind of odd limbo, waiting for more information, carrying on our normal lives, but also see what’s going on and participating in this moment in history has created a sort of strange kind of atmosphere.”
“It’s very humbling and gives me at least a good opportunity to stop and reflect when I see so many world leaders paying their respects to him during this time, whether they agree with him or not,” said Beatrice Ellison. “It’s a little bit chaotic, but it’s pretty exciting, I think. We’re in Rome during a really special time, and I think we’re super lucky to be here.”
“These are concrete experiences in the life of faith,” said Dr. Rombs. “Part of the greatness of the semester here is that it makes concrete what seems very abstract in the lives of students in America.”
Their semester ends in two weeks, and then they will return to their campus in Irving. But they admit they will likely return changed by this experience — seeing firsthand a world in mourning but also that the home and heartbeat of their faith lives on.
“A very special and humbling feeling too, knowing that we’re so privileged to being so close to everything that’s going on,” said Beatrice Ellison.
University of Dallas undergraduate students normally take part in the Rome Program during their sophomore year, “with travel that transports students to the very places where Western civilization first flourished and where Catholic intellectual and spiritual traditions continue to flourish today.”