Shaking things up with Pope Francis

Pope Francis was in America this past week, and, while I could not physically be in DC or NY or Philly, I did my best to celebrate here in Chicago...

Yes, that's my little Flat Francis in the background. (I also got a matching shirt for my sister.)

It was somewhat difficult to keep up with the events in real time, so these websites were (and remain) my go-to's for playing catch up:

*America Magazine's coverage

*USCCB's coverage, including videos from all the live streaming events

*Pope Francis's visit 2015 coverage (this is the site I got the shirt from)

There was quite a bit of excitement (or, at least, talk) surrounding the Pope's visit at school, with my family, and with many friends. But, on the flipside, I think that since Pope Francis is very much centered on reaching out to those on the margins and making a place for everyone, regardless of circumstance or past history, in the church, that some people were turned off by his visit and became closed off to his messages surrounding immigrants, the death penalty, the homeless, etc. 

And this makes me sad because Jesus himself dined with sinners and chose to spend his time with those on the outskirts of society. In the video (from the USCCB website) I watched from Pope Francis at the prison in Pennsylvania, he reminded everyone how we are all sinners in need of God's mercy - we must first find the log in our own eyes.

Pope Francis came to shake us up - it should make us uncomfortable because chances are many of us may be doing something, but there are things we can do more and better. (Trust me on this one - I'm right there with you.) 

Thank you, Pope Francis, for your example, your wisdom, and your courage!

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...