When Bishop Thomas John Paprocki visits Rome in February, he will be on his first official ad limina visit as head of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

The ad limina is a duty required of diocesan bishops to regularly visit the Holy See, to meet face to face with the pope and various officials and report on the status of their dioceses. The term comes from the phrase ad limina apostolorum — literally, to the threshold of the apostles.

"I am looking forward to going to Rome next month for the ad limina visit of the bishops of our region (Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana)," Bishop Paprocki said. "This will be my second ad limina visit. I went previously in May 2004 when I was auxiliary bishop of Chicago. It was the last time that I saw Pope John Paul II alive."

During their visits, bishops traditionally celebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica where the bones of St. Peter are preserved, and also pray at the tomb of the Apostle Paul at the basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls.

As part of the ad limina visit, each bishop is asked to prepare a report on the state of numerous aspects of his diocese, including clergy, education, vocations and priestly formation, family life, communications, lay involvement and demographics. This report is circulated in advance to the various heads of councils and congregations — and to the pope.

American bishops began their ad limina pilgrimages in November 2011, beginning with regions along the East Coast. Bishop Paprocki and his fellow bishops from Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin will arrive in Rome Feb. 7 and begin official visits on Feb. 9.

In addition to frequent prayer together, the bishops will attend meetings with officials of Vatican agencies. This may include congregations in charge of doctrine, clergy, bishops, worship, education and religious orders. They will probably also meet with representatives of pontifical councils dealing with ecumenism, family and laity and evangelism.

For most bishops, the highlight of an ad limina visit is meeting with the pope.

"I look forward to the opportunity to tell Pope Benedict XVI more about the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois when we meet in person," Bishop Paprocki said.

The practice of Pope Benedict XVI has been to meet with bishops in small groups. If the experience of other U.S. bishops during this round of ad limina visits holds true, the pope will probably focus on the "new evangelization," which has become a priority for his papacy.

During the ad limina visit, Bishop Paprocki plans — as his schedule allows — to blog about his experience. In addition, Father Daren Zehnle, who will accompany Bishop Paprocki as his priest/secretary, will Tweet about the experience.

To follow the ad limina visit on the Internet, go to www.dio.org/adlimina where there are instructions to find the diocesan blog and Facebook page, and to follow Father Zehnle on Twitter.