Three seminarians experience historic Jubilee Year of Hope
By William Van de Planque | On Mission
Submitted photography
ROME — Nicholas Vande Hey, Kyle Rohan and newly ordained Fr. Nicholas (Nico) Stellpflug had the unique and spiritually enriching opportunity to study and prepare for priesthood at the Pontifical North American College (NAC) in Rome.
This Jubilee Year of Hope was especially impactful for the three men, as they experienced Apostolic Succession in action. They were living in Rome at the time of the historical events of the death of Pope Francis, the papal conclave and the election of the current pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.
“I’ve seen the whole lifecycle of the pontificate in this past year,” said Rohan, who is currently spending his second year in Rome, in the Configuration II level of his theological studies.
The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, marked the beginning of major changes not only within the Church but also for seminarians at the NAC.
“All of a sudden, the bells started ringing, and (we) got the news,” Rohan said. “It had been talked about at the seminary. We knew he was not in good health, and we knew once he passed away, things would really change.”
The week after Easter Sunday is often a time off from classes for seminarians studying at the NAC to rest and travel, and Rohan was the only Diocese of Green Bay seminarian who was still in Rome when the news of Pope Francis’ death circulated the globe.
Vande Hey and Fr. Stellpflug were both on retreat. Vande Hey was taking personal time off at a monastery nearby, and Fr. Stellpflug was on his canonical retreat in preparation for priestly ordination in Ars, France.
Although Fr. Stellpflug wasn’t able to return to Rome in time for the funeral, Vande Hey returned shortly afterward to St. Peter’s Basilica to see the late holy father lying in state, an opportunity that tens of thousands of mourners, including Rohan, were afforded to pay their respects and pray for him before his funeral.
The three men preparing for priesthood, to be spiritual fathers themselves, experienced in a unique way the stark reality of losing a pope, the spiritual father of the Church as a whole.
“All this time, there was this sensation that this is a really weird time that I’ve never experienced before because we don’t have a pope,” said Rohan, who also attended Easter Sunday Mass with Pope Francis and received his blessing. “It’s a very striking, very emotional time: to not have a holy father, to not have this point of unity for the Church, this guide, this authority, truly this father.”
After Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, 2025, and the subsequent nine days of mourning, the conclave, where 133 cardinal electors gathered to elect a new holy father, began on May 7, 2025.
The day after the election process began, a new pope was elected, and white smoke billowed from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
Vande Hey was struck by the power of the Holy Spirit that he witnessed as he watched “133 men go into this room from all different cultures, all over the world, and in less than 24 hours they had one name that no one expected,” he said.
The three men arrived at St. Peter’s Square in time to witness the live announcement of the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in Church history, and to hear him speak to the world for the first time.
“The most electric moment in the square is not when the name is announced,” Vande Hey said. “It’s when the cardinal archdeacon comes out and says, ‘Habemus papam,’ because we have a father. In a lot of ways, it doesn’t matter who walks out. What matters is that we have a father and a pope.”
“That’s why it’s so exciting: because Peter’s Chair is no longer vacant,” said Fr. Stellpflug, who immediately recognized the new pontiff because then-Cardinal Robert Prevost had celebrated Thanksgiving Day Mass at the NAC six months prior.
“Now there’s a personalness to the holy father being American,” Rohan said. “It’s a beautiful and important thing for America. It’s a beautiful and important thing for me.”
Rohan, who grew up in Greenleaf, attending St. Clare Parish, met Pope Leo XIV at one of his recent audiences.
He was in awe of the experience of meeting the American pope and “shaking his hand, looking him in the eye, introducing myself in English and being totally confident that he knew not only what I was saying but actually where I’m from,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV’s response to learning Rohan was from Green Bay was, “Go Packers,” Rohan said.
“He’s just super pastoral,” he said. “He knows that sports are a big thing; it’s a great connecting point. I joke about how he’s a (Chicago) Bears fan, and he said, ‘Go Packers;’ he’s being all things to all people. But there’s something to that.”
Looking back on this Jubilee Year of Hope, Rohan has reflected a lot on the idea of pilgrimage and how smaller pilgrimages, like going to church on Sunday, can be impactful.
“Part of the reason (jubilees began) was so that people would come on pilgrimage and see the heart of the Church… to receive the treasures of the Church,” he said. “By doing these smaller pilgrimages… (we can be reminded) of the reality of life and the fact that there is a final destination, and it’s not here. We really are on the way.”
Having each spent time studying and receiving priestly formation at the NAC, Fr. Stellpflug, Rohan and Vande Hey collectively appreciate the gift of sharing that experience with other men from their home diocese.
“It was really exciting to have (Rohan join us) and to go from just Nico and I to having a third, having a little bit more of a community of Green Bay,” said Vande Hey, now in his third year in Rome, who was part of the class that welcomed Rohan to the NAC upon his arrival.
Fr. Stellpflug, who was a newly ordained transitional deacon when Rohan joined him and Vande Hey in Rome, had the opportunity to meet with both of them individually for coffee before they left the States.
“It was kind of preparing them to just launch into their time in Rome, as guys had done for me too,” he said.
The summer before Fr. Stellpflug left for Rome, someone who studied at the NAC a few years earlier told him this: “I’m going to give you the best piece of advice.… I’m not going to tell you anything because you just need to let the experience be what it’s going to be.”
That was the same advice Fr. Stellpflug gave Rohan and Vande Hey over coffee.
The Wisconsinite seminarians often enjoy spending time together and taking part in Wisconsin traditions.
“In general, we have really awesome Wisconsin fraternity here and Green Bay fraternity,” said Vande Hey, who grew up in Kaukauna, attending Holy Cross Parish. “Every Sunday, the Wisconsin guys have brunch together after Mass, and we cut a block of Wisconsin cheese.”
Once a semester, they also hold what is called a “Wi-Fry,” which is typically a fish or brat fry for all of the Wisconsinites who are residing in Rome, including students who are studying abroad, seminarians, priests and cardinals.
The three men all agree that their love for their home state and diocese only increased during their time abroad.
“I certainly felt that being away from Wisconsin, from the Diocese of Green Bay, made me grow in love for this place,” said Fr. Stellpflug, whose home parish is St. Paul Parish, Combined Locks. “Being away from home, you kind of ache for that at times and so you want to share about your home.”
For any seminarian sent to study at the NAC, however, natural difficulties are bound to come with the unfamiliar culture, language and community that they encounter when first arriving in Rome.
“A lot of the natural support that you have in friends and family, and natural comforts, are gone,” Vande Hey said. “In a particular way, it forces you — or rather invites you — to really turn to the Lord because, otherwise, if you rely on yourself, you are probably going to be miserable.”
Seminarians who receive the opportunity to study in Rome are not typically asked whether or not they would like to go. Bishop David Ricken discerns in prayer who God is calling to complete priestly formation in Rome, and then those young men are informed months ahead of their departure.
“I felt very honored to be asked to go,” Fr. Stellpflug said. “There was also just this invitation to trust in the Lord … and (to trust) that what I was being asked to do by my superiors was going to be the best thing for me, the Church and ultimately God’s will.”
Vande Hey, now with only a few months to go, and Rohan, only a year behind Vande Hey, are not far from being ordained to the transitional diaconate, just as Fr. Stellpflug was a year and a half ago.
Fr. Stellpflug now serves as associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Manitowoc and is still settling into parish life.
“(I am) taking each moment as it comes and calling upon the Holy Spirit to guide me each day,” he said.