For the students who were part of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy’s mock conclave, a trip to Rome to see the real pontiff from Chicago is a dream come true.
Twenty of the 26 students who took part in the event traveled to Italy the week of Oct. 5 and planned to attend Pope Leo XIV’s weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 8 decked out in their conclave costumes. They were hoping to possibly meet Pope Leo in person as well.
The group also planned to visit Assisi and the tomb of Carlo Acutis, to whom the students have a strong devotion. They were also scheduled to get a tour of the new Borgo Laudato Si’ at Castel Gandolfo from Father Manuel Dorantes, an Archdiocese of Chicago priest who is the center’s director, and Cardinal Cupich was scheduled to celebrate Mass with them at his titular church, Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola in Rome.
The school received international attention when, on May 6, two days before Pope Leo XIV was elected the 267th pope, students elected their own native Chicagoan in a mock conclave. The student elected took the name “Augustine” when he accepted his election.
The first through fourth graders dressed in costumes resembling cardinals, down to red hats made out of card stock, and acted out the process of the conclave with the rest of the student body taking part as the watching crowd.
The mock conclave caught the attention of Cardinal Cupich, who learned of it after taking part in the real conclave that elected Pope Leo. Cardinal Cupich joined the student “cardinals” at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy on June 2 to see a reenactment of their mock conclave and to answer their questions about the real conclave.
At the end of the performance, Cardinal Cupich told the students that not only did he see news clips about their conclave while in Rome, he shared it with other cardinals.
“It’s very clear to me that there was a lot of consideration about what had to be done in order to elect a pope,” the cardinal said. “That was really in tune with where the cardinals were. You know, there wasn’t a lot of effort to, say, partisan support of an individual. What we talked about before the election was, ‘What does the church need now?’ and, ‘What are the qualities of the person who can fill that?’”
The 35 students who traveled to Rome with teachers and family members received more media attention on Oct. 1, when the school held a service to pray for their trip.
Everything came together at the end of the school year, as alumni and parishioners donated money so the kids could go, said Allison Foerster, a teacher who helped orchestrate a mock conclave.
“This [the mock conclave] was just supposed to be an activity for our students on a Tuesday on a really busy week and it has spiraled into something so much bigger,” Foerster said.
The mock conclave was not done to inspire media attention, she said.
“We were really blown away and grateful by the fact that attention was able to shed light on what schools like ours are doing all of the time, which is educating the whole child in a way that acknowledges their whole experience as a human, including their faith,” Foerster said.
Even if they do not get to meet Pope Leo in person, just to “lay eyes on him” is a big deal, she said.
“It’s just such a beautiful capstone,” she said. “As educators we feel grateful for the support of our community and the support of people all around the world who are saying, ‘You know, we saw these kids and it made us want to go back to church,’ or, ‘It made us feel a little more hopeful about the future knowing there are thoughtful young people who are looking out for others and who are willing to engage with tricky topics in meaningful and profound ways.’”