A 12-day trip to Rome became more than the Rev. Edward Looney bargained for when he boarded a plane Sept. 1.
“I had never been to Rome, and I was really looking forward to it,” said Looney, the pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shawano.
Looney had previously made several trips to the European nations including France, Spain and Portugal.
His first reason to travel to Rome was to attend the 26th International Mariological Marian Congress. He was also a delegate to the Pontifical Marian Academy International. Membership in the latter is by invitation only, and by the end of the event, Looney found himself a full member.
Looney compared his study of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a doctor specializing in a particular field.
“Most priests are primary care doctors,” he said. “There are some who specialize in topics like moral theology or canon law, just like doctors can specialize in orthopedics or cardiac care. I specialize in Marian theology, of which there are about 200 of us in the United States.”
Since 2017, Looney has been active in leadership roles in the U.S. branch of Marian theologians.
“I attended the 2017 international congress in Fatima, Portugal, and in 2021, there was a virtual meeting,” he said. “I look at membership almost as a lifetime achievement award in the study of Marian theology. I’m young as a scholar — not even 40 — so it was a great honor to be invited to join.”
The four-day conference included a private audience with Pope Leo XIV.
But, for Looney, the canonization of Carlos Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati at the Vatican on Sept. 7 was even more impactful.
“They were from two different generations, but both were young and very popular,” Looney said.
Acutis died in 2006 at age 15. He was a tech enthusiast and used the internet for evangelization, creating a website on Eucharistic miracles.
Frassati was 24 when he died in 1925. He was an Italian social activist and mountain climber, known for his love of social justice.
“I observed every store in Rome had Carlos souvenirs but only one with Pier’s,” Looney said.
Looney said Frassati was similar in popularity to Thérèse of Lisieux, a 24-year-old nun who died in 1897.
Looney said the priests at the conference were told to bring their stoles (a long, scarf-like liturgical vestment) with them to Rome, but then they were given other vestments to wear and concelebrated the Mass when Acutis and Frassati were canonized.
“It was very unique, and I got choked up when their names were read and their stories told,” Looney said. “I have never been part of a canonization Mass before, and I don’t think I ever even saw one on television. Carlos’ mother was there, and to experience the canonization of her own son had to be awe-inspiring.”
Of course, Looney did his own share of sightseeing. Unlike a planned sightseeing trip, only part was planned beforehand. Other sites were visited because they looked interesting or someone recommended them.
“A lot of it was based on what I saw or heard about,” he said. “It was very fluid.”
Looney said he purposely stayed at a hotel about a mile from the conference site, so he could walk each day and experience the many churches along the way.
Among the planned stops were visits to the Church of St. Mary Major (the burial site of Pope Francis), Loreto and the Basilica della Santa Case (which enshrines the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary lived), Assisi (where Acutis is buried) and San Giovanni Rotondo (the resting site for St. Padre Pio).
“I would love to go back again,” Looney said. “It all becomes very real. This is the central hub of the Catholic Church. This is our church.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
