Bishop Jugis’ ‘ad limina’ pilgrimages to the Vatican

Bishop Peter Jugis has joined the bishops of North and South Carolina, Florida and Georgia on ad limina visits to the Holy Father three times since taking the role as Bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte.

“Ad limina apostolorum” means “to the thresholds of the Apostles” Peter and Paul.

The heads of dioceses are required to make the visits every five years or so to celebrate Mass at the tombs of the apostles martyred in Rome, meet with the pope to report on the status of their dioceses, and hold discussions with Vatican officials on issues of common concern.

Pope John Paul II – March 2004

Only five months after Bishop Peter Jugis was ordained leader of the Diocese of Charlotte, he had his first audience as a bishop with Pope John Paul II.
Bishop Jugis first met Pope John Paul II in 1979 while studying at the Pontifical North American College, and the pope had ordained him to the priesthood in 1983, yet the other bishops graciously helped Bishop Jugis relax prior to his first audience with the pope as a newly-ordained bishop.

He reported afterwards that he was very much in awe of the experience. Pope John Paul II set the tone for the conversation by commenting that he was 38 years old when he became a bishop in Poland, he recalled.

“The ‘ad limina’ visit is a good exercise in ‘communio’ – it underlines the communication of the pope, the Vatican officials and the bishops,” Bishop Jugis said after the visit.

“We are all drawn together under the power of the Holy Spirit to further the mission of the Church.”

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Pope Benedict XVI – May 2012

In 2012, Bishop Jugis and fellow Atlanta Province bishops returned to bring reports of their flourishing dioceses and prayed for courage in their work to build up the Church across the South. Education and communication were key topics during their Vatican visit, especially since the pope had repeatedly emphasized the importance of using social media, strengthening Catholic colleges, and evangelizing in the public sphere to spread the Gospel.

“There is a spiritual component to the visit – to pray at the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. In that sense, there is the idea of a pilgrimage associated with the ad limina visit. In every pilgrimage, one temporarily leaves behind the familiar places of his home and work, to journey to a holy place to spend some time in prayer. In the case of the ad limina visit, the bishop leaves his diocese and journeys to Rome and to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, to draw inspiration and courage from the faithful witness of these two pillars of the Church, each of whom shed his blood for Christ,” Bishop Jugis wrote following the visit.

Besides the spiritual component to the visit, there is also a pastoral component: to meet with the Holy Father and his top advisors, the cardinals and archbishops in the Roman Curia.

“This exchange of information among the pastors of the Church serves to strengthen the unity of the Church,” Bishop Jugis explained.

“I was happy to write in my ad limina report that in the Diocese of Charlotte there is tremendous enthusiasm for the faith. The faithful of the diocese are eager to grow in their relationship with Christ, to increase their knowledge of the faith, and to put their faith into practice. The attitude of the faithful is very positive and upbeat, and there is a strong sense of mission throughout the diocese.”

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Pope Francis – February 2020

Bishop Jugis was among 15 bishops who went on their ad limina pilgrimage to Rome in February 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down international travel.

During the meeting with the Holy Father, Pope Francis gave bishops more than two hours of his time, in what was a genuinely friendly conversation among bishops about issues facing the Church. Bishop Jugis wrote following the visit:

“The Holy Father has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I promised him my prayers every day, for which he was very grateful.”

The ad limina trip is not only about attending meetings, but there is also time for Mass every day, besides prayer and reflection, he noted.

“My prayers, of course, were for God’s continued blessings upon the Diocese of Charlotte, which I am privileged to serve. On the day of our visit when there were no meetings scheduled – the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes – I took the opportunity to spend a good deal of time praying at St. Peter’s Basilica, the place which I had visited quite often when I was a seminarian student in Rome, and the place where I was ordained a deacon and also a priest,” Bishop Jugis said. Read his full reflection.

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