POPE FRANCIS AND THE CHURCH

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, 4.3Standards: 6th gr- MSJ 5, 6, 10; CFP 2, 10

7th gr- MSJ 3, 4, 6, 7, 9; CFP 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 8th gr- MSJ 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14; CFP 3, 4, 5, 7

HABEMUS PAPAM! 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

POPE FRANCIS’ MINISTRY 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 mealsChose the name of St. Francis, who was a

saint who also tried to live simply

THINGS HE HAS TOLD US 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

HIS ELECTION 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

IT ALL HAPPENED IN ST. PETER’S SQUARE

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??

HE TOOK THE NAME OF ST. FRANCIS 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

ST. FRANCIS HAD A HEART FOR… The poor Animals Nature The Eucharist

Animals The environment Italy Merchants Stowaways cub scouts San Francisco, California

IS PATRON OF…

POPE FRANCIS IS A JESUIT. JESUITS WERE FOUNDED BY ST IGNATIUS LOYOLA 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!

ST IGNATIUS TEACHES US TO… 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!

POPE FRANCIS LEADS OUR CHURCH THAT HAS FOUR MARKS ONE HOLY CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC…sound familiar?

We say it in the Nicene Creed!

ONE There is one Catholic Church There is one God We are one as the body of Christ

HOLY 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 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

APOSTOLIC 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

THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA 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?

NOTHING CAN BE DONE WITHOUT…

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

US!

God’s Kingdom