One of the most highly-anticipated stops on Pope Francis’ U.S. tour this week is his planned visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School (OLQA) in East Harlem on Friday. There, he will meet a group of students who attend OLQA and several other nearby Catholic schools.
We are pleased to note that hundreds of CSF Scholars are enrolled at these schools (more than 200 CSF Scholars at OLQA alone), and a few of them are among the group of students who will be introduced to Pope Francis.
Nicholas Marronaro is a fourth-grader at OLQA and he has lots of questions for Pope Francis, including how he survives with one lung and how he feels as the first non-European pope in 1,200 years. He also wonders whether the pope carries a cellphone.
“He probably uses most of his money for the poor and to help save the environment, so I think he has a little flip phone,” Nicholas told one reporter.
OLQA third-grader Allison Reyes-Rodriguez is looking forward to giving the pope a hug and talking to him in Spanish. She told journalists she thinks Pope Francis’ favorite flavor of ice cream is probably vanilla, because that’s her favorite and, “because he likes wearing white every day.”
Another CSF Scholar, Benjamin Grassia, is especially interested to chat with the pope about his native Argentina, since that’s where Benjamin’s parents are from too.
All of the students have been busy planning for the pontiff’s visit since the beginning of the school year, studying his biography, preparing projects to display, and rehearsing songs they will perform for him. No doubt, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students and the entire OLQA community.
Pope Francis’ visit is also a welcome opportunity to applaud the amazing work OLQA and other Catholic schools have done for so many generations of New Yorkers, and to spotlight the new innovations revitalizing Catholic schools and ensuring they will be available for future generations.
For example, OLQA is part of a network of six schools managed by the Partnership for Inner-City Education, whose mission is “to develop outstanding Catholic elementary schools that provide low-income students with the academic preparation, values and skills they need to break the cycle of poverty and lead fulfilling, productive lives.”
CSF is proud to have a part in giving families access to these schools through scholarships. Best of luck to the CSF Scholars and other students who will meet Pope Francis!
For more on the pope’s visit, OLQA, and the Partnership, click here, here, and here.