At the Mass for Life with Cardinal George on Jan. 11 at St. Mary of the Angels Church, the Catholic New World asked a few Catholic school students in attendance what they thought of Pope Francis. Here are their responses: James Spingola, fourth-grader, Embers Elementary School, Park Ridge: He’s a nice guy. He’s from Argentina. He took the name of Francis, which I think is a cool name. Kenobi Carpenter, fourth-grader, Embers Elementary School, Park Ridge: He is, I think, the first pope named Pope Francis. I like him because Francis is a really good name, because St. Francis is the saint of animals and I really like dogs. We go to a Catholic school and learn about religion and when he was elected we saw it on a big screen. It was really cool. Barbara Burns, fifth-grader, Embers Elementary School, Park Ridge: He is humble. He lives a simple life. In his free time, he hangs out with poor people. He is like Jesus. He is generous and he’s just a really good person. Joseph Kuruc, sixth-grader, St. Mary of the Angels School, 1810 N. Hermitage: He’s very, I don’t want to say plain, but it doesn’t seem like he wants to be the most-known priest in the world. He’s not like, “I’m famous,” or something. He’s just a simple pope. When he came out, he didn’t wear all the clothing that the other popes did. I think he’s a very nice guy, and he visits the poor, I think at night. That’s what I heard. Simone Burns, second-grader, Embers Elementary School, Park Ridge: I think that he’s really nice, and that he’s a lot more simple and he has poverty. I’ve learned that you get to choose the name you want when you are pope, and he chose the name Francis, I think because he liked St. Francis of Assisi. Mary Clare Spingola, third-grader, Embers Elementary School, Park Ridge: He’s a good pope, and he says Mass sometimes at St. Mary of the Angels in Italy. He’s a good pope because he travels all the way from here to here to here. If we met Pope Francis, we could ask him what’s it like in Rome. Owen Connolly, second-grader, St. Joseph School, Wilmette: I think it was nice when he won when they were voting for a pope.
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