By Katie Vasquez
It quickly became the trip of a lifetime for the students at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy Catholic Academy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn: the young Catholics were recently celebrating the Jubilee year in Rome.
“We went to all the Holy Doors. We saw a piece of the wood from Jesus’s manger, which was really, really cool,” Susan Felkner, a 7th grader at the school, told Currents News.
Attending Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican, they then received a blessing from Pope Francis.
It was “a moment of peace because someone so important, like the pope, who was so close to God, was there with us,” Angelina Hartley, also a 7th grader, said.
The students considered themselves lucky for getting the chance to see the Holy Father up close.
“They “got the view of a lifetime because he was there, and obviously, you wait. You’re trying to wave and be acknowledged,” said Frank P. Carbone, the president of the Brooklyn school.
Little did they know that one day later, that moment in St Peter’s Square would hold so much more meaning.
“Well, there was bells, church bells going off. There were cannons going off. So, I mean, you knew this was enormous. You could hear it all throughout Rome,” said Donna DeLuca, the school’s director of admissions.
The young Catholics learned the pope had died that Easter Monday morning. In their grief, they decided to stop and pray.
“We all huddled together and listened to the bells and were praying Hail Marys for him and, just paying our respects,” said Sophia Perella, an 8th grader.
Their trip to Rome is now a tribute to the Holy Father. They waited four hours at St Peter’s Basilica just to see Pope Francis, and say goodbye.
“You saw him laying there in state and knowing that you saw him two days before, it was very powerful, very powerful,” said Carbone.
While they are saddened at the loss of the Holy Father, they are happy to have one lasting memory with the late pontiff.
“Our whole group was really lucky because we got to see him on one of his last days of life. And I knew that he went straight to heaven because he was such a great pope and everything,” said Sophia Perella.
“Well, it was like it was a once in a lifetime thing, and I feel it’s going to make me a better Catholic,” said Emma Perella, a 6th grader at St. Stanislaus Kostka in Greenpoint.
It was an Easter Sunday these kids know they’ll never forget.