The Most Rev. Kevin Rhoades, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, has met Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. And while Rhoades, 56, is excited about meeting Pope Francis on his birthday, Nov. 26, students at Sacred Heart School were just as thrilled to meet Rhoades Wednesday. Rhoades, Catholic Schools Superintendent Marsha Jordan and Secretariat for Education Carl Loesch paid the school a visit, touring each classroom after Rhoades led a Catholic mass. In each classroom, Rhoades asked the students similar questions, then let students ask him anything they wanted. Visiting the sixth-grade classroom first, Rhoades told the students they did a good job at mass and that they set an example for the younger children. He then spoke to the students about the Annunciation, which the students are learning about while studying religion. “It’s our calling to say yes to the Lord’s work,” he said. He told the students they should pray, try to obey the commandments and try to discern what God’s calling is for them. “It’s important to pray about what God wants you to do with your life,” Rhoades said. One of the first questions Rhoades got from students was about the hat he wore. In almost every classroom he visited, a student asked about it. The hat he wore in mass is called a miter, while the small purple one he wears elsewhere is a zucchetto, he told them. Other sixth-graders asked about his clothing, leading mass in Fort Wayne at the coliseum and if he ever met the pope. He told them he did meet Pope John Paul II while studying in Rome, and Pope Benedict gave him the cross he wears. When he told the students he was meeting Pope Francis the day before Thanksgiving – also his birthday – the students were in awe. Student Ben Brennan presented the bishop with a stained-glass butterfly his grandpa made, while student Carly Click presented a similar gift to Jordan. They also received bracelets from MudLOVE. Fifth-grade students were learning about creation and how God created humans. Rhoades asked them what was the special thing about humans. A girl answered that they were created in His divine image, while a boy pointed out that humans have a soul. Rhoades said the students were correct in that humans have an immortal soul, intellect and free will where animals just have instinct. When a person chooses to do evil, that is called a sin, he told them, so “we must strive to do good.” Rhoades also explained the process of how cardinals chose the pope. He talked about the current pope, Francis, and how he is from Argentina. His parents origiinally were from Italy but migrated to Argentina. Pope Francis can speak Italian and Spanish, but struggles with English, he said. He discussed Holy Orders and the difference between deacons, priests and bishops. A bishop is the only one who can give Holy Orders. He then explained the “laying on of hands.” One student asked if someone had to be a priest to be pope. Rhoades said when someone is elected by the cardinals to be pope, they just have to be a baptized male. However, before they become pope, they must become ordained. In the fourth-grade classroom, Rhoades learned the students were studying about creation. After asking what humans can do that other creations can not, a student replied “love God.” Rhoades said humans also have free will to choose and if they choose evil, they are saying no to God, hurting others and offending God. By choosing to be good, he said the students would bring joy and peace. Other questions from the students focused on Rhoades’ life. He told them he was appointed bishop 10 years ago in Harrisburg, Pa., by Pope John Paul II. After serving five years as bishop there, Pope Benedict sent him to Indiana to be bishop. Each classroom continued to give him, Jordan and Loesch presents. The fourth-graders gave him wild flower seeds, which Rhoades said he would plant in his garden. In the preschool 4- and 5-year-olds classroom, Rhoades heard the students recite their snack prayer. He was given a framed cross with each student’s picture in the cross. Jordan received a bouquet of flowers. In the preschool 3-year-old class, Rhoades said he didn’t know that preschool is now offered to children so young. Principal James Faroh said the class goes from 8:30 to 11 a.m., but a child can stay longer if a parent needs daycare. The daycare goes by the hour until 5:30 p.m. Wednesday was the first day of school for the class. Twenty-seven students met with Rhoades in the third-grade classroom. They are learning about the four marks of the Christian church: the church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Rhoades also told them there are 1.2 billion catholics in the world. He is the ninth bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, which formed in 1857. He also told them about his two siblings, the prayer book and little statue he’s kept since his first communion and that he didn’t know all of the Saints because there are thousands of them. First-graders made rosaries, which Rhoades blessed. “I’m happy to see that in the first grade you are already learning the rosary,” he said. One girl asked him why he was interested in becoming a bishop. He told her he didn’t know he would be a bishop, but he felt it was God’s calling for him to be a priest. “Why didn’t the Pope come?” one first-grader asked. “That’s a good question,” he responded. He said that while he lives nearby in Fort Wayne and has about 160,000 Catholics in his diocese, the pope lives in Italy and oversees 1.2 billion Catholics. He can’t get to everyone. The class gave him and Jordan a rosary, and he blessed the class. The kindergartners sang “Jesus Loves the Little Children” to him, while the second-graders later sang “This is the Day the Lord has made.” Rhoades learned that the second-graders will have their first communion in May. He also gave them a blessing before he left. For lunch, Rhoades enjoyed Papa John’s pizza with all the faculty and staff while parents watched the classrooms. Before the tour of the classrooms, Jordan said she was appointed superintendent in January. She served as an associate for three years before that. She oversees 42 schools, including four high schools and 38 elementaries. For more information about the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, visit its website at http://www.diocesefwsb.org/ For more on Sacred Heart School, visit its website at http://www.sacredheart-warsaw.org/
