With Pope Francis arriving in the U.S., members of the College of the Holy Cross community have been busy sharing their stories and expertise about the first Jesuit pontiff coming to the U.S. with national, regional and local media.
Juniors Meaghan Body, Ryan Foley and Samuel Gentile are currently participating in the Washington Semester program. The trio was in attendance at the pope’s arrival ceremony at the White House and spoke with Fox 25 and WBZ TV about the experience. Seven Holy Cross juniors in total attended the event, students included: Meaghan Body of Dover; Ryan Foley of Springfield; Samuel Gentile of Chatham, N.J.; Alec Davis of Winchester; Andrew Higgins of Norwalk, Conn.; Hannah Tulinski of New Milford, Conn.; and Caroline Shannon of Lynnfield. The Telegram & Gazette was on hand in D.C. to talk to the students after the address: “It was pitch black, and the line was already around the block when we got here, but it was totally worth it. This is something I am sure I will tell my grandchildren about one day. Yes, I saw the pope," said Meaghan Body ’17, who is interning with Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Karla Alvarado, assistant chaplain at Holy Cross, is leading a group of 18 students to Philadelphia for the Mass at the World Meeting of Families. Alvarado, Lillian Daley ’16 and Francois Venne ’19 have talked to numerous media outlets about their trip including a front page Telegram & Gazette story, Charter TV 3 and WBZ TV and WCVB TV.
WCVB TV (Channel 5 in Boston) came to campus to speak with the contingent of students headed to Philadelphia; Edgar Rodriguez ’16, who will be attending the papal address to Congress; Marybeth Kearns-Barrett, director of the chaplains' office; and papal expert Mathew Schmalz in a piece for the 11 p.m. newscast.
Normand Gouin, assistant chaplain and director of liturgy and music, has composed the hymn that will be played during three Masses celebrated by Pope Francis when he visits the U.S. next week. Gouin will also be part of the papal choir in Philadelphia. Gouin spent months crafting “Sound the Bell of Holy Freedom.” He was one of 20 sacred music composers from across the U.S. that were contacted by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to craft a hymn and his was ultimately the one that was selected. He was featured on NECN, Charter TV 3’s Worcester News Tonight and mentioned on WBUR.
WBZ TV sat in on a class about Vatican II and Pope Francis taught by Sr. Jeanmarie Gribaudo, visiting lecturer of religious studies, and spoke with students about the pope's impact. Rev. Thomas Worcester, S.J., professor of history; Brooke Tranten '17; Alisha Collazo '18; and Brian SanGiacomo '18 were interviewed.
Numerous media outlets were on hand for the College's live viewing party of the pope's address to Congress including NECN, WBZ TV, Worcester News Tonight, the Telegram & Gazette, and the Catholic Free Press. At the invitation of Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02), Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., president, attended the address to Congress. Fr. Boroughs spoke with a GateHouse media reporter after the event about the historic address. The article ran in more than 60 outlets across the state.
Victor Matheson, professor of economics and an expert on the economic impact of mega-events on host cities, spoke with Fortune Magazine, the Huffington Post and the New Jersey Star Ledger about how much the pope’s visit will cost the American public.
Daniel Klinghard, associate professor of political science, spoke to the Boston Globe about the pope's address to Congress. “When you are speaking to Congress,” he told the Globe, “it sends a very important symbol that you’re speaking to the American people.”
Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies, wrote an op-ed for Fortune Magazine titled "Why Pope Francis won’t tolerate income inequality in America" and has provided expert commentary to the Associated Press about the pope arriving in America. He told the Associated Press, "What the pope does in the United States will be more important than what he says. There are a lot of things he will say about capitalism and about wealth inequality, but many Americans and politicians have already made up their minds on these issues. What I would look for is a particular gesture, an unscripted act, that will move people.” The article ran in more than 1200 media outlets across the country including the Christian Science Monitor, Fox News, the Miami Herald and the Boston Herald.
Schmalz also provided live commentary to NECN for the pope's arrival and his address to Congress, and spoke with the Telegram & Gazette, WBZ TV, and CBS radio news station KNX in Los Angeles. He also responded to the pope's comments on the gathering of American bishops in the New York Times.
Edward, O’Donnell, associate professor history, wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post about how Americans used to fear the pope, “The Pope Is Coming to Get Us -- At Least That's What We Used to Think."
David O'Brien, professor emeritus of history, wrote a piece for PBS's "Religion & Ethics" blog about the papal address to Congress.
Maggie Marrone ’80, renovated the pope's quarters for his stay in New York and was featured on the Bronxville Real Estate website.
Jon Favreau ’03, former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama and co-founder of Fenway Strategies, tweeted the “Jesuit worldview is one of the reasons I got into politics.” And then pointed to his column from last year in the Daily Beast "Hope and Change in the Vatican.”
In advance of the pope's arrival, USA Today ran a piece about how Jesuit colleges in the U.S. are thriving.
Related information
- Holy Cross to Host Series of Events to Honor the Pope’s Historic U.S. Visit
- Wide Range of Faculty Experts at Holy Cross Available to Discuss Pope’s First U.S. Visit
- Holy Cross President to Attend Pope Francis’ Historic Address to Congress
