Objectives: Understand the role and significance of the Pope in the hierarchy of the Church; examine the importance of St. Francis and St. Ignatius Loyola in our Church; explore important elements such as the Marks of the Church and the universal nature of the Church SLES: 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 Standards: 6 th gr- MSJ 5, 6, 10; CFP 2, 10 7 th gr- MSJ 3, 4, 6, 7, 9; CFP 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 8 th gr- MSJ 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14; CFP 3, 4, 5, 7

 It means “we have a Pope” in Latin  Our new Pope is Francis  Pope Francis:  Is from Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina  Is the first: Pope from Latin America Pope born outside of Europe in more than 1,000 years Jesuit pope  Is 76 years old  Was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires  Enjoyed dancing the tango with a girlfriend before discovering a “religious vocation” in his youth  Is trained as a chemist  Is one of five children and his parents were from Italy  Speaks three languages: Spanish, Italian and German  Had a lung removed as a teenager, after an infection

 Washed the feet of 12 patients with AIDS at an Argentine hospice in 2001  After being elected pope, he remained standing on the same level as the cardinal-electors rather than sitting in a throne  He tries to live simply:  Rode public transportation (buses, subways, etc) in Argentina and chose to take a minivan with the other cardinals after he was elected pope rather than ride in a special sedan  Cooks his own meals  Chose the name of St. Francis, who was a saint who also tried to live simply

 Follow the crucified Christ, especially when we do “good” things  Remember to ask for forgiveness  Know that God loves with tenderness  Work with those in need  Live simply! Focus less on spending money on unnecessary things  Stop fighting over disagreements and work together

 He asked us to pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI  He asked us to bless him and pray for him before he blessed us  Showed himself to be humble

 Location of St. Peter’s Basilica  Believed to be the location of St. Peter’s burial  The dome was designed by Michelangelo  Inside of dome says: TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM (...you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Vulgate, Matthew 16:18–19.)  Houses the Pietá of Michelangelo  Largest church in the world (second largest is Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Aparecida, Brazil)  The top of the colonnade in the square outside contains 140 statues of various saints  Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square outside the basilica) is in the shape of a key… Why??

 St. Francis is known as “il poverello” (poor man) of Assisi.  From a town in the region of Umbria in Eastern Italy called Assisi  Born to a wealthy family  In his 20s he has a conversion experience and renounces his worldly goods for a life of poverty  He preached to his fellow townspeople and soon gathered a group of followers  In 1210 (Medieval period), he approached the pope for approval of his order.  The pope had a dream that Francis was holding up a church and he knew that he should approve of Francis' work

 His religious order was "mendicant" order, meaning that the people in it owned nothing and spent their days traveling and preaching the word of God.  St Francis stood for simplicity and solidarity with the poor  In 1226, Francis died and was canonized in 1228  In 1979, he received a new title: the patron saint of ecology, which reflects the love that he demonstrated for all of nature throughout his life  Was first person recorded in history to receive the “stigmata” (the wounds of Christ) in 1224

 The poor  Animals  Nature  The Eucharist  Animals  The environment  Italy  Merchants  Stowaways  cub scouts  San Francisco, California

 St. Ignatius was inspired by St. Francis to convert to follow God more nearly  He was a rambunctious, Spanish soldier who focused on fighting for honor and for the king  In 1521, while he was recovering from injuried from battle, all he had to read in his family castle was a book about Jesus and another book about the saints  He realized he was happier daydreaming about serving God than about serving the king… this began his conversion!

 After that, St. Ignatius dedicated his life to loving and serving God  He wrote the Spiritual Exercises, which help people to make decisions through prayer and by strengthening their relationship with God  Just like our bodies need exercise, so do our souls!  He studied and gained some companions at his university  Together, they became an official religious order called “the Society of Jesus,” or the “Jesuits”  They started many high schools (for example, Loyola High) and many universities (like Loyola Marymount University)  St. Ignatius taught them to do all things ad majorem Dei gloriam (A.M.D.G.)– for the greater glory of God!

 Use our imagination to pray– God can speak to us in any moment!  Try to find God in all things and all people  Focus on doing things for God’s greater glory instead of only for ourselves  Be active in service but never forget to pray about who and where you serve before and after!

 ONE  HOLY  CATHOLIC  APOSTOLIC …sound familiar? We say it in the Nicene Creed!

 There is one Catholic Church  There is one God  We are one as the body of Christ  Christ is our holy founder  We must read the Bible and the lives of the saints to strive to be holy in our lives  The Bible tells us what Jesus said and what the apostles did  The Catholic Tradition helps us to live that every day

 Catholic = universal  Christ came for EVERYONE!  There is no place on Earth that the Gospel should not reach  Every human being can be saved if she or he follows Jesus

 We follow the example of the apostles such as Peter and John  We try to follow Christ as they did  Remember- They messed up (a lot) but they STILL did so much for God on Earth  We try to teach as they did

 Pope Francis comes from Latin America where there is a lot of poverty  Social Sin  Sometimes sin is individual. Other times it is social sin, meaning that the sin comes from a group of people (for example, the Nazis during World War II)  Social sin might be scary because the evil acts are coming from many people!  But don’t worry! God’s grace is everyone and works with us to help minimize social sin.  We hope he will help the poor and follow in the footsteps of St. Francis  When the world changes, such as with all the poverty that keeps growing, the Church is affected and sometimes changes in order to help

 In order for the Church and Pope Francis to be successful in helping the poor, they need us to help too! What are three ways in which we can help the poor and vulnerable?

 We are called “the laity” and the Church needs us to help share God’s love with all people  Let’s work with Pope Francis to do that