Only at a Catholic School...

At lunch, I offered someone a slice of pie (an early pi day present from a student), and in return I received news that white smoke had gone up from the Vatican.

Downstairs to my classroom I headed, where I quickly logged onto the latest news sources, hoping to see who had been elected.

But they hadn't announced it yet.

However, when I told my students that the new Pope had been chosen, they got pretty excited. (It's hard to get upset with them for getting a bit crazy over things related to the Church when they are supposed to be working on their essays quietly...) They wanted to know right away who the new Pope was, but they had to wait with the rest of the world.

At the end of the period, an announcement came on over the intercom telling us to turn on our SmartBoards and tune into St. Peter's Square on the local news.

Well, since we were already set to go to Art, we just headed upstairs and watched there instead. Instead of going about our planning period, my co-teacher and I stayed with the students and their Art teacher, and we listened to the speculation, stories, etc. that the news was sharing.

Some of the kids seemed pretty bored, but most were engaged in what was being said.

And then, it was announced - "Habemus Papam!" - and history was made: first Latin American pope, first Jesuit, first pope in a long time to take a new name...

Viva Pope Francis!

How blessed I felt today to be able to watch and celebrate this momentous occasion alongside my students.

Only at a Catholic school...