Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., talks with a group of young adults after concelebrating Mass with U.S. bishops at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome Jan. 15, 2020. Young adults from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of New Ulm, Minn., and the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., accompanied U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota on their “ad limina” visits to Rome. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Supporting and supported by their bishops, 25 young adults from Minnesota and North Dakota made a pilgrimage “ad limina apostolorum” — to the threshold of the apostles — in mid-January.
The delegation of women and men, single and married, ages 21-35 flew to Rome with the bishops of Region VIII, who are required by church law to make the “ad limina” visits to pray at the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and to meet with the pope and top Vatican officials.
Many dioceses offer pilgrimages to coincide with their bishops’ “ad limina” visits, but the Region VIII trip was different: Young adults were invited last May to apply to make the trip either by providing a letter of recommendation from someone who would attest to their leadership in evangelization or by writing a short essay on how Christ has worked through others to draw them closer to him.
While the region’s bishops met Pope Francis Jan. 13, the young pilgrims met him two days later after the pope’s weekly general audience. Two young men came bearing white zucchetti — the papal skullcaps — and the pope put each on his head, then handed it back as a souvenir.
