Papal Visit
By Mr. Michael Dewey
Theology Department Chair
It was ten years ago this month (in September of 2015) when Pope Francis made his historic trip to the United States. That papal visit was also a formative moment for the history of the diocese and our school. Thanks to our host, Congressman Richard Neal, the four Catholic high schools of the Springfield Diocese (Cathedral, Holyoke Catholic, St. Mary’s and St. Joseph) sent four adults and twenty-six student representatives to experience Pope Francis’ speech to the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress. It was a historic time period because the presiding bishop at the time, Mitchell Rozanski, had recently announced the merger of two secondary schools, Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic. The new high school for the 21st Century was to be named after Pope Francis, and here was that very Holy Father touching down on U.S. soil.
As one might imagine, security around the National Mall was highly elevated on that day, but after passing through several checkpoints and metal detectors, our group gained ticketed access to the West Front Lawn of the Capitol Building. That was our vantage point from which to watch the telecast of the Pope’s speech and to receive a papal blessing from His Holiness when he greeted us afterwards from the balcony.
During the last ten years, there’s been a lot of debate about how the greatness of a nation is to be measured, from pithy slogans to gross national product, from medal counts at Olympic Games to demonstrations of military prowess. Prophetically on that September day, Pope Francis reminded the assembled law-makers of a theological vision of greatness, a vision of what God desires for His creation. In doing so, he invoked the names and legacies of four great Americans who embody ideals that align most closely with that vision:
“A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as (Abraham) Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King Jr. sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, [when it cultivates] the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.”
From my perspective, listening to the Pope deliver that speech and undergoing an informative tour of the Capitol building led by Congressman Neal, it was a fine day to be a Catholic, an American, and an educator. In a special way, the Pope’s visit and inspirational words, gave much needed hope and perspective to individuals and a community looking to the future and to undergoing the work of creating a new hub of Catholic education in the diocese, Pope Francis Preparatory School.
