Francis was the first pope to visit a Catholic school in the US
In a history-making trip in 2015, the pontiff visited Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, New York.
Pope Francis, who died of a stroke and heart failure on Monday, left a legacy as a voice for immigrants and the downtrodden. Another, less well-known piece of his legacy: He was the first pope to visit one of the thousands of Catholic schools in the United States.
Francis made history in 2015 when he met with students at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, according to Mary Grace Walsh, the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York.
She invited students and staff to pause this week and pray for Francis.
“May Pope Francis rest in everlasting joy and peace,” she said in a statement.
St. Augustine High School, a Catholic prep school in New Orleans, also mourned the pontiff.
“May his legacy of peace, humility, and unity continue to inspire generations to come,” the school posted on social media.
Catholic schools, once integral parts of many communities in the U.S., have faced enrollment declines over the last decade. That drop has stabilized in recent years, according to the National Catholic Educational Association, as the pandemic brought broader shifts in enrollment away from traditional public schooling (though most kids still attend public schools).
Presidents of the country’s more than 200 Catholic colleges honored Francis on Monday as well.
“We should embrace his vision for Catholic education,” said Peter Kilpatrick, president of The Catholic University of America, in a statement. “He called for education that forms missionary disciples prepared to address contemporary challenges with intellectual rigor and spiritual depth.”
In February 2024, Francis met with the trustees of the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic institution in Indiana. The school's president, the Rev. Robert A. Dowd, said in a statement Monday that the pope instructed them to continue educating students through "'three languages: the head, the heart and the hands.'"
"As we seek to follow his example, we hope Pope Francis will pray for us from Heaven," Dowd said.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for Paste BN. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.