By Ben Goodwin, ‘16
It was the first Sunday after arriving in Italy and my fellow Gonzaga-in-Florence classmates and I were already missing our Gonzaga Jesuits, so we decided to take the 20-minute walk from downtown Rome to St. Peter’s Square. There, we ran into a rather notable Jesuit who was celebrating Mass. Not only was Pope Francis celebrating Mass for thousands of faithful Catholics, he was also canonizing four new saints of the Catholic Church.
It was very moving for this group of 17 Gonzaga students to be sitting there witnessing Jesuit teaching in action. Mariam Baouardy and Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas became the first two female Palestinian saints in centuries (the phrase on my program was “since the time of the Apostles”). This was a very significant gesture by Pope Francis under the current world climate, but the more I think about it, the more it reminded me of the things we are taught constantly at a high-level Jesuit institution. Pope Francis, the most recognizable Jesuit in the world, was in front of his 1 billion followers and the world making a statement about being a church for all peoples and being globally aware of the incredible things the world has to offer. He was not deterred by conflict or division but instead stood in his full papal vestments in 85-degree heat and showed that these women deserved the highest praise from the church. It’s one thing to be taught about being a global citizen, accepting of cultures and people; it’s a completely different thing to see one of the most influential men in the world be a living example of those Jesuit ideals.
The next astonishing thing was seeing how loved and adored Pope Francis is. He is an electric 78-year old who holds a crowd without any effort. The way I know this? He had me hanging on every word he spoke and I couldn’t understand a word of Italian. Every one of the 11,000 people were there listening very intently when he started preaching and I know it must have been good because there were almost as many laughs during his homily as there are during mass with Fr. Brad Reynolds back on campus. Unquestionably, I learned something just by being there.
The most incredible time of the day, however, was when Mass had finished. This Sunday was a big deal, four new saints and all. All the cardinals and several dignitaries were there, seated next to the altar. Pope Francis finished Mass, embraced maybe a dozen cardinals, only waved to the heads of states present then jumped in his Popemobile and started zipping around the square. He had such a huge, genuine smile on his face the entire time even though his hat kept flying off. I could tell this was his happy place. This was the part of his job he really loved, being with the people. There was just a joy and happiness radiating from him that was infectious. He’d pass a section and you could see a few people succumb to tears of joy. While I didn’t understand a word he said for the three hours we sat there, I know I left a better person. And I appreciate how different he is. He has definitely earned his nickname “Cool” Pope Francis. But hey, why am I surprised? He’s a Jesuit.