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Here a grad, there a grad, everywhere a Prep gradBy Roger L. Ratchford, Ed.D. ’51Nearly forty years of greeting students for the first timeas they entered my classroom has led me to believethat teachers never know what lies in store either forthemselves or for their students. A case in point is one of myFrench classes in the late ’60s. Into my class walked a couple ofyoung men with eager faces and malleable wills (don’t they allhave these attributes?) to respond to my ministrations and leaveat the end of the year better prepared to endure the “slings andarrows of outrageous fortune,” or perhaps even the demands oftheir next teacher. Such is the nature of the teaching mind.These two young men both entered into religious life, andplayed a role in one of my most profound experiences. Howlittle did I know that one of them would provide me with a bit ofinformation to which he was privy, while the other worked nextto some of the world’s greatest treasures of religious art which hewas willing to show to his former French teacher at Fairfield Prep.This whole scenario was occasioned by a pilgrimage to Rome,visiting churches and, of course, the Vatican, under the expertguidance of Fr. Richard Cipolla, whom I met while he was teachingat the Prep and who now is a Parochial Vicar at St. Mary Churchin Norwalk. He is currently one of the priests at the church whosays Mass in the Extraordinary Form which my wife and I cherishvery much and which led us to sign up for the pilgrimage to Rome.Another of my students, Fr. Dave Leopold ’67 and currently thepastor of Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown, CT was also withthe group of pilgrims. We knew from that assemblage that theweek in Rome would be exceptional.The Vatican was certainly going to be a highlight of the trip.My former student, Monsignor William Millea ’70, had appearedon TV as one of the Masters of Ceremony during the ChristmasMass of the Pope from the Vatican. How would I contact himthere? The Prep Alumni Directory only had a Connecticutaddress. I contacted Monsignor Andy Varga ’70, who hadlikewise spent a year in my French class with Monsignor Bill.Pastor of St. Luke Church in Westport, Monsignor Andy gladlyforwarded his email to me, wishing me “Bon Voyage.”An email exchange assured me that Monsignor Bill would bein Rome. We planned to meet Tuesday at the Porta Sant’Anna,which provides entry to the offices of the Vatican Secretariatwhere he would give us a personal tour, and have dinner.Sunday and Monday were totally given to visits to many ofthe significant churches near our hotel. One of the most famousof the places was the Pantheon, once a Roman temple andnow a church with an unusual open dome. Other churches onour list contained the relics of various saints who had a role inthe history of the church and the Jesuits, including the Gesu.We prayed before the relics of St. Ignatius, St. Aloysius, and St.Robert Bellarmine. Evenings were spent tasting the exquisitefood offered by some of Rome’s best restaurants. Perhaps itwas an appropriate reward for the trials of negotiating Rome’scobblestone streets and the head-spinning nature of a one-weekpilgrimage to some of the best churches in the Catholic world.Our arrival at the Porta Sant’Anna occasioned a brief visit tothe waiting room of the Swiss Guards. They were very courteouswhile we awaited the arrival of Monsignor Millea, whose namethey pronounce as Mil-lay-a. Our Prep grad is a highly respectedpersonage with the Swiss Guards. One to whom I was introducedby the Monsignor as his “former French teacher” was from aFrench canton, and we exchanged some lively French. I wasindeed fortunate to be counted among Monsignor Bill’s friends.Monsignor Bill’s office is located in the upper reaches of theVatican and overlooks the piazza and the front of the basilica.The three of us sat in the Sistine Chapel, without crowds,marveling at the masterpieces on the ceiling. He also led us intoa room at the end of the chapel where newly-elected popes go todon the vestments of a pope.Monsignor WilliamMillea ’70, gaveGail and RogerRatchford afantastic privatetour of the Vatican.Next we visited the Pauline Chapel, which containsMichelangelo’s Crucifixion of St. Peter and the Conversion ofSaul. These paintings are not normally seen by the general publicbecause the Pauline Chapel is off-limits to tourists. MonsignorBill, my wife and I knelt at the altar rail to say a prayer.Although our devotional appetites were easily resolved bythe spectacular nature of our visit to the inner reaches of theVatican, we also were treated to a lovely dinner where MonsignorBill and I discussed Fairfield Prep. He remembered fondly hisLatin teacher, Manny Ondeck ’49, who had recently passed away,and of course, we smiled at some of the references he madeto things that had occurred in my French class, when both heand Monsignor Varga had sat before me as eager learners. I washappy to be among his fond recollections. Just as fond as I am ofmy memories of my former students, now called Prep Grads.Prep Today 35