Jesuit schools continue to reflect on the Papal Visit

Four days after the end of his visit to Britain, pupils and staff in various Jesuit schools in Britain continue to reflect on the experience of seeing and hearing Pope Benedict.  Below is a selection of their thoughts.

From Catherine Canning (15), St Aloysius' College, Glasgow
I was one of the fortunate number asked to represent the College.  When I entered Bellahouston Park my spirits were instantly lifted.  To see so many people turn out to acknowledge their faith, all waiting in anticipation for the arrival of the Pontiff, made me realise how strong the Catholic Church is in Scotland and how special the day would be.  When mass began there was a reverential silence which was an instant change from the hysteria that had preceded it.  The Papal presence was indeed very powerful in building the buzzing atmosphere which surrounded the park.

The homily really struck a chord with me because the Pope made the time to directly address the younger people instead if making one general comment.  The Pope is always described as a shy and scholarly man and so I was not expecting to connect with his message in as much depth.  However, I was proven wrong as the Pontiff engaged his congregation across the country.  His message circulated around finding happiness within our faith.  I was encouraged by the Holy Father because he reminded us that we can live a good life by coming closer to God and following the example of Jesus Christ.  Only then can we truly be content within ourselves, rejecting the temptations which pull us away from God.

As the jubilant crowd of pilgrims left Bellahouston, the effect of Pope Benedict's visit, it seemed was greater than that of a rock star.  This is a day I will never forget, and I feel that if I only took one thing away from the experience it would be that I should be more conscience of the role faith plays in my life.

16 year old Sophie Harkins, also from St Aloysius writes
Sometimes calling yourself a Scottish Catholic can seem like a bit of a contradiction of terms.  Though we're proud to come from the country of William Wallace and Robert Burns and Ramsay MacDonald, we've been constantly told by the media that 'Scotland doesn't want the Pope', 'British taxpayers don't want to pay for the visit'.  To say the least, those of us who looked forward to celebrating mass at Bellahouston, could be understood to have felt a little bit unwelcome in our own country.

I suppose that's sometimes why it's easier for us to identify ourselves as Irish Catholics or Italian Catholics or Polish Catholics or from whatever ethnic group we happen to belong to.  In our constant quest to be accepted we enter into groups that will acknowledge us and welcome every aspect of us, including our religion, wholeheartedly.

But I realised something when attending mass in Bellahouston Park.  The more than 70,000 people there were not attending just to see the Holy Father.  They were there to welcome him to their Scotland, to fly the Vatican flag along with the Saltire and to proclaim how happy they were to receive their Holy Father to their home country.

Catholicism may never be a centrepiece of an increasingly secular Scotland, but Thursday 16th at Bellahouston the unity and the love shown there not just for the Holy Father but for the Universal Church meant that it didn't seem such a contradiction of terms or such a stretch of words to call myself a Scottish Catholic.

Karen Mitchell (Teacher of EAL at Stonyhurst):
My visit to Birmingham was a very special and moving experience which made me realise that I am not alone in my faith and am in fact part of a much larger group of people who share the same beliefs.

Messalina Morley, Lower Grammar pupil of Stonyhurst, writes:
On Sunday I went to Birmingham to the Beatification Mass for Cardinal Newman.  We got up at 1 o'cock in the morning to go and it rained the whole time we waited for the Pope to arrive.  But it was all worth it! When i saw the Pope arrive in his Popemobile my heart went.  It was the most amazing thing ever! I am so glad I went and I hope that sometime in the future I get to do it again.