UPPER EAST SIDE — Msgr. Robert Romano has traveled to Rome many times, but his trip there next month will be unlike any other. The pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Bensonhurst is also the assistant chief chaplain of the NYPD. In that role, Msgr. Romano will lead the department’s Holy Name Society of the five boroughs on a pilgrimage to the Eternal City as part of the Catholic Church’s celebration of the Jubilee Year 2025.
The Holy See has designated several days throughout the year as special days for different groups and ministries, with the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Security Personnel declared for Feb. 8-9. Among other unique events on those days, Pope Francis is expected to celebrate a special Mass for service members.
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, Msgr. Romano and Father Michael Eguino, an NYPD chaplain and pastor of the Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch in the Bronx, met with Holy Name Society members at St. Vincent Ferrer Church on the Upper East Side to discuss the plans for the pilgrimage. The journey, which will take place Feb. 6-11, will include an excursion to Assisi to visit the
tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who died in 2006 at age 16 and will be canonized in April as the Church’s first millennial saint.

leading the department’s Holy Name
Society on a Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage to Rome. (Photo: Courtesy of
NYPD Holy Name Society)
The NYPD contingent, which includes cops, chaplains, and family members of officers killed in the line of duty, numbers 47.
“I have never been to Rome for a jubilee, so I’m looking forward to that and going through the doors of the basilicas,” Msgr. Romano said, referring to the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica and four sites in Rome open for pilgrims to walk through and receive a plenary indulgence for their sins.
The Holy Doors — also known as the Five Portals — are open only during jubilee years. Msgr. Romano said he looks forward to accompanying the officers on a spiritual journey. “When you get cops to exercise their faith, it’s always a great thing. That’s what we try to do,” Msgr. Romano explained.
Lt. Steven Jerome, president of the Holy Name Society for Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island, hopes the pilgrimage will allow him to reflect on his Catholic faith. “I think it’s a good getaway for everyone. … I look at it like it’s a spiritual retreat as well to go there, to have time to go to church, to Mass, and to pray,” Jerome said. “I think it is going to be great for our spirituality, as a whole, for the members of the department.”
Detective Michael McInnis, a former Holy Name Society president, said the pilgrimage is a dream come true. “I’ve always wanted to see the Vatican and experience St. Peter’s Square,” McInnis said, adding that he will be looking for peace of mind away from the stresses of the job.
Along with the officers and clergy, the pilgrimage’s participants will include people like Marie Dziergowski, whose husband, police officer Matthew Dziergowski, was killed in the line of duty on Staten Island in 1999. Marie likened the pilgrimage to a family trip.
“I’ve been to Rome several times and it’s always inspiring, but to go through the Five Portals — it’s very exciting,” she said. “I went to Rome with the NYPD chaplains several times, and it’s always a blessing to be with them. We’re one big family.” She said she is especially excited about the trip to Assisi. “I want to pray at the remains of Carlo Acutis. I pray to him every night, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Father Eguino is looking forward to being part of such a rare occurrence. “As one of the chaplains … we wanted to make sure that the cops had an opportunity because it’ll be 25 years until the next ordinary jubilee,” Father Eguino explained.