Cranberry boy meets the pope
CRANBERRY TWP — “Querido Papa Francisco (Dear Pope Francis)” is how a St. Kilian student started his letter that led to him meeting his hero, Pope Francis.
Alex Lopez-Foubert, 8, of Cranberry Township had the opportunity to meet the pope during the pontiff's visit to Philadelphia Sept. 26 and 27.
“It was life-changing,” said Alejandro Lopez, Alex's father and a parishioner at St. Kilian Parish.
Alex wrote the letter earlier this year as part of his class' Hero Project as a second grader. Students picked a hero for the annual social studies assignment and researched that person.
For their presentations, students dressed up like their heroes. Alex dressed like the pontiff and even made a video.
Their presentations were put on display in the school's cafeteria for Hero Night. There, parents and relatives got to see the students' projects and ask questions about the people they picked.
Alex said the reason Pope Frances is his hero is “because Pope Francis speaks Spanish like him, likes soccer like him and most importantly, motivates him to be a saint.”
Lopez said the idea for the presentation was all Alex's and that he was passionate about it.
In March, Lopez received a call from Bishop John McIntyre of Philadelphia that Alex and his family were invited to attend Pope Francis' visit to that city.
“Having Pope Francis there addressing us was amazing,” Lopez said. “It was an unbelievable feeling being part of that.”
The Lopez family has lived in Cranberry for about a year. Before that they lived in Michigan and Brazil. The family is originally from Mexico.
The Rev. Charles Bober suggested the family should send a letter along with a copy of Alex's presentation to the pope.“It was really heartwarming to see somebody we know from our parish was going to be that close to the pope,” Bober said.Alex sent a handwritten letter to the pope in Spanish and a video of his presentation to the Vatican.The family was invited to represent the Hispanic and Latino Catholics in the U.S. when presenting Pope Francis the Cross of the Encuentros.The 5-foot-tall, wood cross symbolizes the history and future of journey of faith among Hispanic and Latino Catholics.Lopez said the family, including his wife Lorena, his daughter Maite, Alex, and Lopez's parents and mother-in-law were going to Philadelphia anyway to see the pope. However, it wasn't until a week before Francis' arrival that the family was told it would represent the Hispanic Catholic community and meet the pope in person.Alex and the family got to speak with the pope for about four minutes at Liberty Hall.Lopez described Pope Francis as “humble” and “down-to-earth.”“He reflects peace and love for Jesus Christ and for everybody,” he said. “He tries to approach everybody with love and engage everyone on that peaceful message.”The family gave two gifts to the pope, a medal from Our Lady of Guadalupe and a doll Maite had that was handmade in Mexico.In return, Francis gave the family rosaries.Bober said it was “not surprising” that Alex said Pope Francis is his hero, given their same language and the latter's “personal connection” with people he meets.“He obviously represents a worldwide family of faith, but from people who have met him, my understanding is you just feel like you're the most important person in the world to him at that moment,” Bober said.Alex's letter can be seen on the St. Kilian Parish website.
