The Pontifical North American College

House Schedule

The daily schedule of the North American College is often full and challenging. The normal day begins with the community gathered in prayer in the Assumption Chapel. Following Morning Prayer and Mass comes a light breakfast and then the seminarians are off to the universities for classes. Classes usually begin at 8:30AM and last all morning; there are also occasional afternoon classes. Pranzo (lunch) is served at the College and is the main community meal of each day. Afternoons are most often left open for study, prayer, recreation, and apostolic work. Evening prayer concludes the afternoon and is followed by a casual cena (supper). Evenings are often filled with house meetings, activities, and formation, though they also offer seminarians the opportunity to socialize, read, study, and pray as they conclude their day.

You will receive a detailed schedule when you arrive, and updates are posted for the community as the need arises.

While orientation begins in August, classes do not start until October. Prior to the beginning of the academic year, the new men are engaged in language studies, various outings, assisting at the diaconate ordination of the 4th year men, and their own annual retreat. While Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Italy (for obvious reasons), the men of the College do not let the holiday pass un-celebrated. Christmas follows soon after, providing the seminarians with the chance to celebrate the season with the Holy Father here in Rome, and the chance to travel abroad. The Fall semester concludes at the end of January, and is followed by a few weeks of final exams. The Spring semester begins soon after. The season of Lent brings with it the annual tradition of Station Church pilgrimages. Every other year the College celebrates Holy Week in house. During the alternate years, students are encouraged to celebrate Holy Week abroad. The end of the academic year is upon us before we know it as the seminarians find themselves preparing for another round of exams and planning summer assignments throughout Europe, the States, and other parts of the globe.

Attire and Clothing

The attire for seminarians at the Pontifical North American College falls into the following four categories:

Informal Clerical: Black Roman collar with black slacks. Clerical informal is worn on class days through pranzo.

Formal Clerical: “Informal Clerical” with the addition of a black suit jacket. As a general rule, Formal Clerical attire is only worn on Sundays and special occasions. [CASSOCKS: Optional. These are worn for some liturgical assignments (e.g. Choir) and may be worn for Papal Liturgies.]

Casual: Slacks and a tucked in collared shirt. As a general rule, this can be worn after lunch and the evening, so a sufficient supply should be brought.

Recreational: Recreational attire—shorts, T-shirts, sports attire, etc.—may be worn during free time. The frequency of visitors and guests to the seminary calls for respect for them through appropriate dress. Therefore, recreational attire is not to be worn in the public areas of the seminary building which includes the first two floors, the lobby, the refectory, the library and the chapels.

CASUAL ATTIRE WILL BE THE DRESS CODE FOR THE ORIENTATION PERIOD. There will be a few occasions for FORMAL or INFORMAL CLERICAL ATTIRE during the orientation period. Therefore, seminarians should pack the appropriate clothing in order to have it on arrival at the College.

Liturgical: A plain white ALB is worn by acolytes (generally third year men) for the celebration of the Liturgy at the seminary. Lectors, generally first year men after January, wear formal clerical attire. New students may bring an alb with them or may purchase an alb through the College or in the city once they arrive, but this is generally not necessary until the reception of the ministry of Acolyte during second year. Seminarians provide their own amice and cincture if required by the alb.

Students should bring some clerical clothing with them, especially for use during the orientation period (see above). Some may want to buy much of their clerical clothing here. Good clerical clothing is available at reasonable prices in Rome (often much less expensive than in the States). It is advisable, however, to buy black shoes in North America (see below). Moreover, finding time to purchase clerical clothing during the first couple of weeks may be difficult.

N.B.: Larger sizes are hard to find in Rome, so you should buy these in the US since they will be expensive to ship over to Rome.

All types of clothing are needed in Rome. It is hot and muggy in the summers and cold, damp, and rainy in the winters. Heavier winter clothing (sweaters, raincoats, heavier jackets, etc., of any color) is appropriate here, as well as for trips north during the winter. A bathrobe and a pair of shower shoes or flip-flops is a good idea for going to and from the showers, which are at the end of the corridor. A good umbrella is also helpful, especially for winter and spring months. Cheap umbrellas are readily available from street vendors the instant it begins to rain.

It is highly recommended that students bring one or two additional pairs of shoes with them. Shoes tend to wear more quickly here because of the constant city use. Also, it is often difficult to find shoes that offer good quality and a good fit. This is particularly true for shoe sizes of 11 or greater. Shoe repair, however, is excellent and inexpensive. Leather soles tend to slip easily on wet marble or cobblestones, which are common surfaces in Rome. Students in Rome do a lot of walking, so good shoes are important. Black walking shoes (e.g. Rockports) are often worn with informal clerical, or even formal clerical dress.

Laundry

Students have access to a laundry room containing washing machines, dryers, irons, and ironing boards, all of which are free of charge. The College provides detergent, fabric softener, and bleach. At one’s own expense, a dry-cleaning company may be used that picks up and delivers clothes at the College. This service takes four days.

Rooms

Each student has his own room at the College. When deciding what to bring for one’s room, the following description may be helpful: although no two rooms have exactly the same dimensions, most rooms generally have a single window, with three feet of wall space on either side. There is a radiator under the window. Two walls, each being about 15 feet long, contain neither a door nor a window. Built into one of these walls is a closet (containing a hanging rod, a series of drawers and two cabinets). Above the closet is a storage space for suitcases. Next to the closet is a sink and a mirror. The room will contain a desk, a desk chair, a desk lamp, a bookshelf, a comfortable reading chair and a bed. Sheets, blankets, a pillow, and pillowcases are provided by the College, but towels and washcloths are not. Students may wish to bring an additional tension rod of about 27 inches to provide more hanging space in the closet. Since 220V/50 Hz electrical equipment [e.g., lamps (including light bulbs), room fans, etc.] is not generally available in North America, students are advised to purchase any additional equipment after their arrival.

A student may wish to place curtains in his window. Curtains, draperies, rods, and fixtures may be purchased here. The windows are 5.6 feet high and 5.6 feet wide. The distance from the top of the window to the floor is 8.5 feet.

Also of note is the fact that the College has a fully functioning wood shop that contains wood and power tools. Many students elect to use this resource to construct additional cabinets, shelves, and even lofts for their rooms.

Floor Plan:

Here is a panorama of how a normal room may look before you move in:

Electrical Equipment

The European electrical system is considerably different than the electrical system in the U.S. In order to use electronics and electrical devices in Europe, it will be necessary to buy some equipment to adapt to the European system – plug adapters, and in some cases, transformers. While electrical equipment can be purchased here in Rome, some items are expensive and hard to find. We recommend that you purchase some items, such as power strips and transformers. Plug adapters and some other items can be purchased in either country, but may be cheaper in Rome (or possibly cheaper still if purchased online). Finally, some items from the U.S., such as lamps, generally will not work at all and should be purchased after arriving in Rome.

DON’T PANIC! This will all make sense.

Do I need a Transformer?

There are two differences between the electricity of Europe (including Italy and NAC) and that of the United States: voltage and frequency (expressed in Hertz or ‘cycles’)

U.S. Standard = 110V at 60Hz
European (and Australian) Standard = 220V at 50Hz

Any standard U.S. device (i.e. only working in the range of 100V to 130V at 60Hz) will be destroyed by heat caused by too much electrical current if plugged directly into a European outlet. For these devices it will be necessary to purchase a transformer or a power converter in order to use them in Italy; these change the voltage from 220V to 110V that is usable by the device, but they cannot change the frequency.

In order to determine whether a device is made to operate with both power systems, it is necessary to look on the equipment itself (either on the back of a device, or on the power “brick” or “wall wart” that is commonly used with laptops and consumer electronics), in the user manual, or on the manufacturer’s website. The following is typical of what you might see on a laptop power cord transformer:

ASUS
AC Adapter
Input: 110-240V AC ~ 50-60Hz
Output: 12V —– 3A Max.

Voltage: If the input voltage includes voltages around 220V (it may list voltages up to 240V) and accepts both 50Hz and 60Hz, then you won’t need a transformer at all for the device – you will only need a plug adapter. If it only lists voltages between 100V and 130V, a transformer will be necessary.

Cycles: If a device only accepts 60Hz, it may not work at all in Europe, even with a transformer. Devices with motors, such as a tape deck, would run about 20% slower than normal if not designed to work at 50Hz. A special note on clocks: non-digital electric clocks will lose 10 minutes each hour, even with a transformer – thus bringing a digital or battery-powered clock or purchasing a clock here is recommended.

Many pieces of electrical equipment made in the last five years, especially the better quality and more expensive models, can adapt to European electrical current, but one should check to be sure. (This includes most computers, digital cameras, PDA’s, and some electric razors.) Obviously, it will be easiest if all electrical devices you will be bringing are made to adapt to both electrical systems.

Smaller appliances, such as hair dryers and electric shavers/razors, generally function properly with the use of small converters. These converters not only enable one to plug in a North American pronged appliance into the Italian-style outlet but also convert the Italian volts to the standard North American voltage. They may usually be found in a local department store near the luggage department.

Power strips provide multiple outlets but no voltage reduction and work with both 220V and 110V.   It is useful to purchase U.S. power strips at home, and Italian-style power strips can be purchased in Rome for about €10.

Surge protectors often look like power strips, but have voltage protection. However, these often require 110V input.  220V surge protectors can be purchased in Rome.

What Plug Adapter Should I Buy?

Plug adapters simply convert between the oddly shaped Italian plugs and the standard U.S. Plug. The U.S. and Canada use a “Type A” ungrounded two-prong plug and an “Type B” grounded three-prong plug; Australia uses a “Type I” plug.

The plug and socket type for Italian plugs is “Type L”, which look like this:

Two-prong plugs can also use an ungrounded “Type C” two-prong converter, which is marketed as a general “European” adapter. These will work in any outlet throughout continental Europe. However, they should never be used for U.S. three-prong plugs because of a risk of shock.

One good example of an inexpensive “Type A/B” to “Type L” converter can be found here online.  An example of a “Type A” to “Type C” converter can be found here. These can also be found in the U.S. at travel stores and electronics stores such as Radio Shack.

BE CAREFUL! There is also a German-style plug (“Type F”) that is becoming more common in other parts of Europe and looks like this; although it is not obvious, the prongs are slightly larger than those of the “Type F” and “Type C” plugs. While some outlets and power strips in Italy accept both “Type F” and “Type L” plugs – the wall-sockets at NAC accept ONLY “Type L” grounded plugs and “Type C” ungrounded plugs.

For More Information

Another good explanation of information of this section as well as further information (such as the difference between transformers and converters) can be found here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Electrical_systems.

Computers

Many students at the College choose to bring computers (Windows, Macintosh, and even Linux) with them from home.  Communication by e-mail is a staple of communication within the College; thus students are advised to bring their own personal computer and Cat-5 ethernet cable  (although nearly all computers made in recent years have an Ethernet port, double-check your computer to be sure).  All rooms are wired to the Local Area Network from which you may access the Internet. In addition, wireless internet is available in the Library and the Student Lounge.  There are also several common-use computers and printers in the library and in the computer lab.

Many e-mail attachments containing day-to-day information at the college are in MS Word format, thus it is very helpful to have either Microsoft Office or a MS Office-compatible software package such as OpenOffice.org installed on your computer.  All students with Windows PCs will be required to install the college’s site-licensed copy of Kaspersky antivirus upon arrival.

Standard-size paper here in Rome is A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm), and most programs have a print setting for A4 paper built-in. Some printers respond more delicately to the change in electricity and so those brought from the U.S. may not function in Rome, even with a transformer. The printers at the College are usually adequate to handle your needs (though you will need to bring disks or a USB thumb drive to transfer files); in practice, most students use these community printers or purchase one in the city.

Many have found laptop computers to be most helpful and some students use laptops for note-taking at the Universities, but you are encouraged to bring extra batteries. Most desktop and laptop computers can accept 220V at 50Hz thus only a plug adapter is necessary. As an alternate possibility for laptops, it may also be possible to purchase a European power cord to plug into the laptop’s AC adapter. Remember to check ALL components of your computer system to see whether or not they will work on the Italian power system, as described in the section above. It may be easiest to bring a U.S. power strip (not a surge protector) and then plug the strip into a plug adapter or a transformer.

Although we do have someone here to help with any computer problems, servicing of PCs and Macs is sometimes cumbersome and slightly more expensive than in the States.  For this reason, installation of Ethernet cards, software, and peripherals is best done before you arrive. Your orientation will include some basic instructions regarding the use of these machines.

You should bring ALL backup disks and software installation disks that you may have so that you can reinstall any software should the need arise.

Sports

The NAC has a variety of sports facilities and equipment.

Facilities include some of the following:

• A large artificial-turf sports field used for soccer, football, softball, frisbee and various other sports.
• 3 tennis courts (one of which is frequently used for floor hockey)
• A full size outdoor basketball court
• Handball courts

The college supplies the following equipment:

• Soccer balls, basketballs, baseballs and softballs, footballs, and bocce balls.
• Uniforms for sports games with other seminaries and colleges.
• baseball/softball gloves
• Other assorted equipment

Things we recommend you bring:

• cleats and shin guards (be sure that cleats are suitable for artificial turf)
• tennis rackets
• basketball shoes
• any other equipment that is custom to your needs.

Note: certain things, such as tennis balls, can be purchased here.

The recently completed gym here at the NAC is used quite regularly by a number of seminarians. Equipment in the room includes free weights, universal machines, “stair master” machines, treadmills, a Nordic Trac, and a leg press. Bring your own music.

Music

Students employ their musical skills in both liturgical and non-liturgical contexts. Liturgical music involves the college choir, cantors, Gregorian chant schola, contemporary ensemble, and Spanish choir. Organists, pianists, and other instrumentalists are encouraged to share their talents at liturgies. Annual events, such as the Christmas dinner and charity concert, also involve students’ musical talent. Students are encouraged to bring musical instruments, as there are many opportunities to use them in a liturgical setting. One may find suitable second-hand shipping containers at a local instrument store. Sheet music can be difficult to find in Rome.

The college choir sings at Sunday liturgies and on feast days. This past year the choir was also invited to sing at several Papal Masses at St. Peters.

Art

There are also a number of seminarians here interested in the visual arts. This year a small room on the first floor has been set aside as an art room. Art supplies are fairly easy to find here in Rome, though expensive. We recommend that you bring any of the more expensive or essential things that are easy to pack, such as brushes.

Library and Books

College Library

The College library provides the best collection of theology books in the English language to be found in Rome. It contains reference works, books available for loan, and periodicals. Most of the volumes are on theological and spiritual topics, but selections of other materials (e.g. literature, history, and philosophy) are also available. The periodical room provides a wide-ranging selection of current Catholic periodicals and theological journals, as well as general interest magazines.

Purchasing Books

Several local bookstores carry a substantial number of books in English. Most of these are academic books, particularly theological books, and can be expensive. Some students have found that ordering books in English through the on-line booksellers can be less expensive than buying the same books here.

While there are only a few books that are absolutely indispensable (Bible, Liturgy of the Hours, Missal, and Vatican II documents), there are some academic books that are needed for class-work. Near the beginning of each semester professors provide a bibliography from which students may choose to gain more understanding of the course subject. Although these books are available in the College library, many students have found it useful to have personal copies. Although they can be bought in Rome, students can probably purchase them for considerably less in North America and have them shipped with other belongings before arrival.

Recommended General Bibliography:

• Bible – The most popular translation seems to be the Jerusalem or New Jerusalem Bible. The NAB and the RSV are often also acceptable.
• The Liturgy of the Hours. The four volume set as approved for the U.S. and Canada is the official one used by the College.
• The Documents of Vatican II. (Recommendation: Flannery, Vatican Council II, ISBN: 0-918344-39-5 or 1-871552-60-5)
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church – Second Edition
• The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ISBN: 0-13-614934-0
• The Dictionary of Fundamental Theology, R. Latourelle & R. Fisichella, eds., St. Paul, 1994.
• A Greek New Testament
  • Greek-English New Testament, Nestle-Aland, 27th Edition. ISBN: 3-438-05408-6
  • The Greek New Testament, Aland. et. al., eds., 4th Edition, United Bible Societies
• Greek and English Dictionaries (also perhaps a Latin Dictionary)
• Italian Books
  • English-Italian Dictionary (Possibly one for travel and one for desk)
  • Italian Textbooks and/or Grammar
• Any Travel Guides desired – for Rome & various places in Europe. (Travel Guides to many common destinations are also available in the College’s Travel Library)
• Spiritual reading.

Note: These books can generally be found in Rome: at our library, from a friend, or purchased in Rome (but generally at a higher price).

Updated 26 March 2009