The first day of class for University of Dallas students in Rome is a goose-bump moment.

Class begins with a special Mass in St. Peter's Cathedral - in front of the tomb of St. Peter. While tourists crowd into the basilica and gawk at its art treasures, the UD students are bowing their heads several floors below, in a ponderous marble chamber lined with the crypts of several popes. Frescoes adorn the walls, halls and ceilings.

And that's just Day One of a study-abroad program where students learn as much about their faith as about the traditional liberal arts.

"Most of the students say it's a life-changing experience, unlike anything they've ever done before and may ever do again," said William Frank, a philosophy professor and director of the Rome program.

What makes it so different? For starters, the students live in a historical villa, Due Santi ("Two Saints"), where both Paul and Peter are believed to have stopped for water. The peach-colored stucco villa has been modernized to include a cafeteria - staffed by local Italian cooks - dorm rooms, classrooms, even recreation rooms with pingpong, pool and TV.

There's also a vineyard, where the students help harvest cabernet-merlot grapes. Rome is just a 30-minute bus ride away, and Frank is aware of the temptations that can present. On the first evening of class before the fall and spring semesters, he gathers the students at the villa's swimming pool for a wine and cheese reception and advises them to behave responsibly during their semester stay. These are young people, after all, who may be abroad for the first time, in a country famous for "la dolce vita." It's helpful that Frank and his wife, Therese, who teaches theology, have reared five children of their own.

Frank explained that the Rome program was founded in 1970 "to bring some very bright but very middle-class American students to this country so they can marry the ideas and books to the real-life sites and situations in history. There is an element of self-discovery to that and a strong element of faith discovery since we are in the spiritual home of Roman Catholicism."

The Rome program was moved to the 12-acre Due Santi in 1994 to provide more room for classrooms and living quarters. The program is so popular that about 75 percent of the UD student body participates before graduation, usually during their sophomore year. The cost can be a stretch - $8,800 for tuition, $3,300 for room and board, plus up to $5,000 for additional group travel to Greece, Florence, Assisi and other historic sites. Many of the students get supplemental scholarship help.

Students from other colleges, high school students, teachers and families can enroll in summer courses for college credit, certification or, simply, their own enrichment.

Courses offered at Due Santi include Italian, English literature and art history, but religion is an ever-present subtext - not surprising for a program in Italy run by a Catholic university in the States.

The beauty of being so close to the Eternal City is that lectures can be coupled with visits to key historical sites.

In one session this fall Dr. Laura Flusche, a professor of art and architecture, talked about the Basilica of San Clemente, just a couple of blocks from the Rome Coliseum. The church is a multilayered history lesson in itself. Students climb down steps from the medieval church at ground level to an older Christian structure below, which was built over the residence of St. Clement, the first-century bishop of Rome. That residence, in turn, was built over a pagan worship site that predates Christianity.

Therese Frank said many of the students come face to face with the roots of their faith during their time at Due Santi.

The week before, she said, several students expressed shock to learn that while St. Catherine of Siena is buried in a Roman church (Santa Maria Sopra Minerva), her head and a finger are enshrined in her hometown, more than 100 miles to the north. Therese Frank explained that while the ancient tradition of revering relics of saints, even body parts, may seem barbaric today, it's a way of reminding believers that "these were real people, not a myth."

By the end of the year, many students want to stay on. Several are chosen to come back after graduation to work as "student life assistants," who serve as dorm advisers.

One of those advisers, Angie Bleichrodt, 23, said being part of the Rome program again has been "the most incredible experience." True, she was up with a mop in the middle of the night when a pipe burst and flooded the ground floor, but she still brimmed with enthusiasm.

"We just had a women's silent retreat," she said. "We spent three days together and came away even closer than before. One of the themes was that it's OK to admit you have weaknesses. God works with your weaknesses."

William Frank said he hoped that by the end of the semester each of the 95 students would have an answer to the question, "Why am I here?" and give some thought to how the Rome experience can be translated into a life worth living.

"They do gain a sense of the nobility of making a difference in the world when they come in contact with some thinkers, some architects, some church leaders, who have indeed made a difference," Frank explained. "We hope our students are inspired to approach the problems in our own country and times with that same sense of noble purpose. We hope after they say 'Ciao' to Rome, it becomes part of their future as well as their past."