Sarah Petrocci Experiences Rome, Assisi as Chaminade Scholar

2014 May 30

Sarah Petrocci, a University of Dayton junior from Rockville, MD, recently returned from a 10-day cultural and spiritual immersion pilgrimage through Italy and the Vatican.

Sarah is one of 15 students who took the pilgrimage, May 6-15, as part of the capstone experience of the Vocation and Arts course in the Chaminade Scholars program at the University of Dayton.

"The ultimate goal of the immersion experience is to spend quality time reviewing, re-evaluating their life journeys, discerning clear definition and direction as they prepare to enter into their senior year," said religious studies professor Sister Angela Ann Zukowski, M.H.S.H., who teaches the course and leads the trip. "It is always amazing how many students redefine their life direction after completing the experience in Italy. Even more important, the students are enriched by the spiritual dimension that embraced them."

The trip began in Assisi, where Sarah visited churches and basilicas and learned about the life of St. Francis and St. Clare. The group took every opportunity to capture the sense of vocation and calling, Zukowski said, engaging in quiet prayer and daily reflection to closely connect with their spirituality and community, with mealtimes as an opportunity for thoughtful conversation.

After a week in Assisi, it was on to Rome. During a visit to Vatican Radio, the students participated in an interview session with Sean Patrick Lovett, the director of the network's English division.

The Chaminade Scholars also toured the Vatican Museum and celebrated Mass in the crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica. They later attended a papal audience with Pope Francis at St. Peter's Square.

Named for Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, the founder of the Society of Mary, the Chaminade Scholars Program is open to 15 honors students each year as an opportunity to explore a call to leadership and service through the lens of their Christian faith.

Honors students selected for the program take three thematic courses on prayer, vocation and the arts, and Christianity, citizenship and society. Chaminade Scholars can come from any major and should have demonstrated a capacity for Christian leadership by involvement in church and community service activities as well as a desire to grow in their faith and understanding of vocation.