Florida Catholic | Catholic Educators To Meet With Pontiff

Catholic educators to meet with pontiff

The pope will visit Catholic University to address a gathering of presidents of Catholic universities and colleges and Catholic school superintendents.

CARLOS BRICENO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 03.28.08

TAMPA | Father David O’Connell, president of The Catholic University of America, has spent at least an hour or two almost every day since last November working on preparations for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States next month.

And for good reason: the Washington, D.C., university is one of the stops the Holy Father will make during his April 15-20 trip.

“Oh my heavens,” said Father O’Connell, after being asked about what the logistics were for the April 17 visit. Once he knew the pope was coming to his university, he established a committee of 14 people who have helped him “to think through and cover every single aspect of his visit on campus.”

Father O’Connell was in Florida recently, including stops in Tampa and Naples, during spring break at the university. He said he was visiting with alumni living in the state and meeting with fundraisers.

He said the question he is asked the most about the pope’s visit is why is the pontiff stopping at the university?

“The answer is pretty simple,” he said. “He’s arriving in Washington. Catholic University is the national university of the Catholic Church in our country, and there is a logical connection because the university is directly accountable as a pontifical, or papally chartered, university to the Holy See.”

The second most frequent question?

“How can I get tickets?” he said, laughing.

The purpose of the pope’s visit to the university will be to give an address on Catholic education to a gathering of presidents of Catholic universities and colleges and Catholic school superintendents from across the country, he said.

The audience will be by invitation only, he said. However, Florida will be well-represented among those who will listen to him speak there.

“I go expecting that we’ll hear something that only a man who is the pope and who has this reputation as an international scholar could say,” said Brother Richard DeMaria, the Archdiocese of Miami’s executive director of Christian Formation and a member of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. “The point is I go prepared to hear something that is exciting.”

Like most people, he is wondering what the talk will be about specifically. He said he thinks it will probably be about the Holy Father’s effort to reinstate the importance of reason as a part of faith, and the dangers of relativism.

Arthur Kirk, the president of Saint Leo University in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, said his guess is that the pope’s address will be a pastoral and inspirational one.

“It’s going to be exciting,” he said. “It’s going to be inspiring and it’s going to be affirming. It is affirming already that the Holy Father would come and seek to have, essentially, a private session with us.”

When asked what kind of impact the pope’s visit might have on Catholic education, Kirk said he hopes it focuses attention on the “great work” that Catholic universities and colleges are doing across the country.

Catholic University’s Father O’Connell has his own expectations for the visit.

“I think he’s going to want to stress the importance of Catholic identity,” he said. “He’s going to express gratitude for the sacrifices that people make to send their children to Catholic schools and to Catholic colleges. And I think he’s going to have a very strong message that all of us involved in Catholic education should make Jesus Christ the center of what we are and what we do.”

Father O’Connell said the campus is buzzing with anticipation. On the day of the visit, he expects thousands of students on the mall on campus, chanting and waving flags.

“It will be great for him to see how much he is loved,” he said. “As Catholics, this is our shepherd. This is our teacher and our beloved pastor. … It’ a great thing for me to see the day come when this man walks on our campus and really is able to bring life and energy to our students. It’s an awesome opportunity.”

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