Every 5-8 years, each catholic bishop must go to the Vatican for what is known as an “Ad Limina” visit - Latin for “To the Threshold”. The bishop is visiting the “threshold” of the Apostles, and the Pope as the successor of St. Peter. During this visit, a bishop gives an accounting of his diocese, and receives counsel, instructions or advice from the Pope.
In February 2020, Bishop Wall, along with the other bishop of his region, made their Ad Limina visit with Pope Francis. In this episode, Bishop Wall describes the visit, which entailed speaking for 2.5 hours with the Pope, meeting with congregations of the Vatican, and making a retreat to Assisi.
“Ultimately, I’m not the shepherd of my diocese - but Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, is the shepherd of the diocese.” - Bishop Wall
Topics Discussed:
0:25 - What is an Ad Limina visit?
6:37 - What are Congregations?
15:38 - A conversation with Pope Francis
24:00 - Did Pope Francis express any sentiments about the Diocese of Gallup?
References and Further Reading:
Pope Benedict: Catholic schools are centers for evangelization
“How many people work in the Vatican? About half.” - Pope John XXIII’s keen sense of humor
Bishop Wall’s 2 podcasts on Humanae Vitae
Catholic News Agency Story interviewing Bishop Wall about Ad Limina visit
Send us your questions!
Do you have a question for Bishop Wall? Leave it in the comments below, send us a message on Facebook, or email us at media@dioceseofgallup.org.
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Outro music: Budding by Broke for Free is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.