Celebrating Pope Francis’s 10th Anniversary

Do you remember where you were on March 13, 2013? I was sitting in class for my Doctor of Ministry program at the University of St. Mary of the Lake (Mundelein Seminary), when the seminary’s chapel bells started to ring; a new pope had been elected!

It’s hard to believe that was already ten years ago, and here we are, celebrating Pope Francis’s 10th anniversary as pope!

This occasion is a great opportunity for catechists to teach about:

• the role of the Holy Father
• apostolic succession
• how a pope is elected (conclaves)
• bishops and cardinals
• the Jesuits
• a coat of arms
• the Vatican
• St. Francis of Assisi
• St. Peter (the first pope)
• an understanding of the Church (ecclesiology) in general

To assist in your plans for celebrating Pope Francis’s 10th anniversary, Loyola Press has assembled an impressive treasury of resources. At this site, you will find books, a quiz about Pope Francis, prayer cards, downloadable mini-posters, and more.

Let us all pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis!

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favorably on your servant Francis,
whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd;

Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

(USCCB)

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