Two travelers went to Rome for a canonization but stayed for a funeral
By Elizabeth Landry, staff writer
Ryan Hamilton, pictured in front of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, the day after Pope Francis’ funeral. (submitted by Hamilton)
It was an experience shared by many travelers to Rome this past April — those who went to witness the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis instead found themselves taking part in the events following the death of Pope Francis. Two such travelers were Ryan Hamilton, youth minister at St. Rose of Lima Church in North Syracuse, and Dwight “Buzz” Putnam, physics teacher at Notre Dame Schools in Utica.
Hamilton traveled with a group of four others, including a college roommate and a priest from a parish in Wilmington, Delaware, where his roommate works. The group spent eight days in Italy — mostly in Rome, with a day trip to Assisi. The trip was centered around the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which had been scheduled for April 27. However, news broke of Pope Francis’ passing in the early hours of April 21, the same day the group was set to board their flight to Rome.
“At first, the thought was, ‘What? That can’t be real.’ He had looked to be in good health the day before — he was greeting people and whatnot,” Hamilton recalled. “And so then, of course, our thought was, ‘How would this affect the trip?’ Shortly thereafter, they announced that the canonization would be postponed. So there’s, you know, a bit of sadness there, but quickly replaced by the realization that we’re going to get to go to a papal funeral, and that’s a pretty once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Putnam, who was traveling with his wife on an 18-day trip throughout Italy that was set to culminate in Rome for the canonization, heard the news while in Assisi, where they had spent Good Friday through Easter Monday.
Finding out the news “was shocking … when you turned on Italian TV, it was everywhere. … Every single news station you went to, it was all about the pope and what he did, honoring him,” Putnam said.
Once the initial shock passed, both Hamilton and Putnam — along with their respective travel partners — made arrangements to attend the viewing of Pope Francis’ body and the funeral in St. Peter’s Square. Both remarked on the immense crowds at the Vatican and the reverence shown during the viewing and the funeral, though each was struck in their own unique way.
“It was definitely cool to see the full majesty of the Catholic Church on display, even though Pope Francis wanted a simpler funeral. There’s still something to be said for having all the Cardinals present there, and then you’ve got world leaders and dignitaries, religious and priests walking around everywhere,” Hamilton said.
Reflecting on being part of a crowd of 250,000 people, Putnam said it was “crazy … ridiculous.” During the funeral Mass, he quietly asked his wife, ‘How are they going to give Communion to all of these people?’
Dwight “Buzz” Putnam and his wife, maryanne, wait in line to view the pope lying in state at St. Peter’s Church.
“Two minutes later, they created a pathway down the middle of 250,000 people,” he explained. “Hundreds, literally hundreds of priests started walking down the middle, carrying chalices with the Host and they stopped about every 15 or 20 feet and they gave Communion to everybody. They were literally done faster than [if it was] in a large church. That was a sight to see. It was amazing.”
Although the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis was postponed with no new date set, both Hamilton and Putnam visited Assisi to view his tomb and expressed their awe at the town’s beauty and humility.
“Assisi is a very unique place in general, just because it’s a little town with great saints there. In particular, I think for me, looking at the juxtaposition between St. Clare and St. Francis, and then Blessed Carlo … there’s an element of age where you’re looking at the grave of St. Francis and then the juxtaposition of Carlo Acutis’ [grave], where you see a saint lying there, wearing jeans and a polo. It’s very cool, just to kind of see both aspects of the Church, the history and the tradition, but also the life that there is right now, existing in the same town, so close together,” said Hamilton.
“He looks like he’s just sleeping there, you know? I expected something more elegant or elaborate, and it wasn’t. And I think that was a good thing, [because] it seemed like it meant more, in some respect. Like, ‘Wow, this kid is going to be a saint,’” said Putnam, who brought Blessed Carlo Acutis medals back for the students at Notre Dame.
For Hamilton, the trip — though full of twists and turns — offered a spiritual reflection he’ll carry with him long after his return home.
Struck by the many martyrs memorialized in Rome, he said, “The call for us to live is not halfway in, but entirely in — willing to give everything for the Lord and for Christ, as all of the martyrs did. I think that’s something that I’ve taken home with me, just [asking] ‘Where in my life am I holding back? Where in my life am I not giving all to Christ?’”
