Catholic University alumnus Dillon Johnson, B.A. 2021, measures his regular walk from the Pontifical North American College (“the NAC”) to St. Peter’s Basilica in rosary decades.
“I can start praying a rosary when I leave the NAC and by the time I’ve reached the fourth or fifth decade, I’m inside St. Peter’s,” Johnson said.
Whether that says more about his holiness or about the incomparable opportunities he has as a current seminarian at the NAC is hard to say. But one thing is for certain: Rome, and his experience with it as a Catholic University of America student, have been central to Johnson’s pursuit of his priestly vocation.
Johnson first encountered the city as an undergraduate student at the University. In the fall of 2019, he studied abroad at our Rome Center — an experience that brought his faith formation to life.
“Studying abroad in Rome during college was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life,” Johnson said. “There was something extraordinary about being able to pray with the pope and to experience the universality of the Church.”
Specifically, the proximity of historic churches and relics, as well as the unique prayer opportunities the city affords, were the most powerful ways in which studying in Rome helped him mature in faith and ask deeper questions about his vocation.
“The churches of Rome became places of encounter rather than simply historical monuments,” Johnson said. “I could enter a church where Christians had worshiped for centuries, pray before the relics of a saint, or celebrate Mass near the tomb of an apostle. The history of the Church suddenly became tangible.”
Johnson still looks back on his semester abroad as the highlight of his college years, and as an important stepping stone on his path towards seminary.
“In many ways, that semester planted the seeds that continued to grow and eventually helped lead me back to Rome as a seminarian,” Johnson said.
Where All Roads Lead
Little could he know at the time that the eternal city would soon become his spiritual home in a much grander way. After graduation, Johnson entered seminary at the Saint John Paul II Seminary, just across the street from Catholic University. Two years later he was sent to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum.
For the past two years, Johnson has studied there, not only learning more about Catholicism but also getting even more acquainted with Rome’s beauty, quirks, and spiritual richness. Multiple times each week, he walks 40 minutes through the streets of Rome to get from his residence at the NAC to his classes at the Angelicum. He has come to know the city well and became quite the local— even being assigned through the NAC to give weekly tours at St. Peter’s Basilica, an experience that never grew old.
“There’s always something there that’s going to move you,” Johnson said.
Living at the American seminary in Rome has also afforded him unique opportunities to interact with some of the most well known American Catholics. This October, he will be ordained a deacon by Bishop Robert Barron inside St. Peter’s Basilica. He also served mass twice for a certain Robert Prevost: once when Prevost was a cardinal visiting the NAC, and once as Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.
During both interactions, Johnson was struck by the current pope’s sense of peace.
“He simply seemed focused on celebrating the Mass and being present to the community,” Johnson said. “When I later encountered him as Pope Leo XIV, that same basic impression remained. Obviously, the circumstances were entirely different. He was now the Holy Father, carrying the responsibility of the universal Church, but there was still that same calmness and simplicity.”
Where it All Began
Besides those encounters, Johnson defines his time in Rome through other experiences entirely. Amidst the excitement of meeting famous priests and living in a city of such spiritual importance, he doesn’t forget his Catholic University roots, which provided him the opportunity to study in this city in the first place.
“My time at University had a tremendous influence on my relationship with the Lord and my journey toward the priesthood,” Johnson said.
During his undergraduate years here, it became natural for Johnson to fill his time with prayer, given the availability of daily Masses and chapels on campus. It became a habit to stop inside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on his way back to his dorm, pray the Rosary more often, and regularly attend daily Mass.
“That environment helped me to hear the Lord’s call more clearly and gave me the freedom to respond,” Johnson said.
Johnson hopes to be ordained a priest for his home diocese of Rapid City, S.D., next year. He has begun a final year of studies in Rome and will then come home to serve in a parish according to his new vocation— a vocation largely flavored by the eternal city, Catholic University, and the strong relationship between the two.
