ROME — Maybe he’ll be a cardinal one day.
David Rider, 27, in Rome studying to become a priest, is closely following Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s rise.
“I am here at such an amazing time,” said Rider, who hails from Hyde Park in Dutchess County. “To be here as a seminarian at the same time as the consistory is great. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Rider is a student at the Pontifical North American College, the school where Dolan studied to become a priest between 1972 and 1976. Dolan returned to the school in the 1990s to serve as rector.
Rider, one of three seminarians at the school who hail from the New York Archdiocese, was sponsored by Dolan. As a student, Rider is not allowed to return home for at least two years.
“That, of course, doesn’t stop my mom from coming to see me,” he said
Rider said one of the best things about studying in Rome is being able to attend Mass every Sunday at the Vatican as well as pray and celebrate Mass at the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica.
“We have access to the pope every week,” he said. “That’s a great privilege to have. There is so much we can do here that we can’t do at home.”
Asked if he could be cardinal someday, Rider said, “That’s not something you think about. I’m here to serve God the best way I can.”