I Don’t Know Whether I Want to Spend Family Weekend With My Parents or the Pope

By Sofia Garcia

Oct. 12, 2016

Family Weekend is here, which means that students will get the opportunity to spend the weekend with their parents in what is sure to be an emotional and rewarding three days. My own parents will be driving to Chicago in order to see how I’ve been adjusting to the University, and are very excited to spend time with me. This is why I don’t know how to tell them I’m thinking of buying plane tickets to Rome to visit the Pope. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and all, but they aren’t exactly the highest authority in the Catholic church.

My mom is a great woman, with a charitable heart and ceaseless energy .– sShe did once bake cookies for the entire school baseball team, and she always donated my old clothes to the Salvation Army, but the Pope has that whole foot washing business that honestly seems more worthwhile. I know my mom won’t get too mad if I visit him.

Never mind that meeting the Bishop of Rome would be a learning opportunity that one would be remiss to pass up! Not only have Popes, in general, always played a crucial role in European history, but Francis in particular has so many historic “firsts”! He’s the first Jesuit pope, the first Latinin American pope, the first Pope named “Francis” … the list goes on! I know my dad was the first left-handed lawyer in Pope County, Illinois, but, just between you and me, he is way more proud of that than he should be.