The Vatican is a place of great spiritual value. Fr. William E. Reynolds, pastor at Newton’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church, recently went to Vatican City on Nov. 14 for a conference, and said the visit was wonderful.

There was one speaker who made an impact on Reynolds: Capt. Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera and his 22-man crew, who were captured by a group of 30 Somali pirates. They were held hostage for 316 days and were given inhumane living conditions. Lavadera credits his faith for getting him through the event.

“He spoke about this in terms of how important his faith was to him, to keep him oriented in the right way so that he would not denigrate his crew,” Reynolds said. “He would not devalue any of the crew members. He was concerned always for the crew.”