Students who messaged Vatican welcome new Pope

Newcastle students have been celebrating the appointment of Pope Leo XIV, after sending a message to The Vatican during the Conclave earlier this month.

​The YouTube video featured six Year 9 boys from St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, and was sent to the Cardinals at the start of the election process. Representing the school, each student shared hopes and prayers for the election of the new Pope in the recording, which followed an earlier message sent to the late Pope Francis during his final illness.

After the Cardinals’ decision was announced, staff and students alike at St Cuthbert’s welcomed Cardinal Francis Prevost as Pontiff, under his newly chosen name of Pope Leo.

“After days of prayer and discernment in the Sistine Chapel, the College of Cardinals announced to the world: Habemus Papam – We have a Pope!” said Dan Murray, Headteacher at St Cuthbert’s, which is a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

“At St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, pupils in Years 7 to 9 took part in lessons to mark and celebrate this important event. The pupils were invited to reflect on Pope Leo’s motto taken from St Augustine’s words ‘In Illo uno unum’, which means ‘in the One, we are one’.

“The boys were invited to discuss how we can, and should, work together for the good of others, and, as we do, we become ever more ‘one in him, who is one’.”

The students additionally learned about the significance of Pope Leo’s choice of name, and his commitment to social justice.

“The lesson also explored Rerum Novarum, the great social encyclical letter of Pope Leo XIII,” continued Mr Murray. “The boys reflected on the importance of social justice in the world and in our local communities.

“They learnt about how, in choosing the name Leo, Pope Leo XIV reflected his commitment to social justice, and how this should shape the mission of the Church.

“Pope Leo XIV said, ‘We need to be a Church that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer’.”

“The boys were encouraged to find practical ways in which they could make this vision of the Church a reality,” he added.

“The boys also expressed hope and inspiration for the future of the Church under Pope Leo XIV’s leadership. Many pupils expressed a desire to learn more, and to follow Pope Leo XIV’s journey in the months and years ahead.”