• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Visits USS Austin

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060426-08
Release Date: 4/26/2006 4:04:00 PM

By Lt. j.g. Jennifer Stephens, USS Austin Public Affairs

USS AUSTIN, At Sea (NNS) -- U.S. Ambassador to Vatican City, or the Holy See, the Honorable Francis Rooney, embarked USS Austin (LPD 4) to ride the ship into Civitevecchia, Italy, April 11.

Upon his arrival, Rooney took a tour of Austin and enjoyed visiting with the ship's Sailors and Marines. His tour route included the bridge, meeting the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure team, meeting the Naturalization candidates on board and Marines in their Amphibious Assault Vehicles, with a final stop down in the engine room.

Rooney was accompanied by Monsignor Peter Wells, Fr. Charles Brown and Fr. Thomas Powers, all young, up-and-coming priests in the Vatican that work within the International Relations realm.

After the tour, Rooney joined Austin’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Kevin Flanagan, on the bridge to watch as the ship pulled in to port.

“This is an experience that I will never forget. It was quite a treat to ride the Austin into port,” said Rooney.

Upon mooring to the pier, Rooney was presented with an Austin plaque, ballcap and ship’s coin.

“The ambassador picked a great day to come out,” said Lt. Cmdr. Dan Evans, Austin’s executive officer. "The winds were blowing and the seas were rolling a little bit. It made for an exciting day. The crew also got a kick out of hosting both the ambassador and the Monsignors from the Vatican."

"It was an honor to meet some fellow clergymen from the Vatican,” said ship’s Chaplain, Lt. Dave Slater. “They were very helpful in pointing out some of the better sites to visit, such as the catacombs and tombs of the Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul. It's a tremendous opportunity for the whole crew, especially our Roman Catholic members, to be in Rome during the holy week of Easter, and I'm sure that everyone will have a great time and take away some very special memories.”

Austin left Norfolk, Va., in early November as part of Expeditionary Strike Group 8 to support maritime security operations (MSO) in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Operations. Austin will report to Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet while transiting across the Mediterranean Sea en route to a planned Norfolk homecoming later this spring.