BILLINGS — The funeral service for Pope Francis was watched by millions worldwide on Saturday. The death of the late pontiff has been a deeply significant event for Catholics and has also sparked an unexpected and meaningful learning experience for students at Billings Central Catholic High School.
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In religion and theology classes taught by Karla Kelly, lesson plans were quickly set aside this past week to make space for history in the making. Pope Francis died on Monday at the age of 88. For many of her students, this is the first time they have experienced the passing of a current pope.
"This isn't like every four years we have a new president. This isn't a normal, scheduled occurrence," said senior Broady Stathos. “Pope Francis was elected in 2013. We were six, seven years old at the time, so we don't really remember too much of that.”
Now, as seniors and juniors prepare for the end of their academic year, they are also grappling with a real-time historical moment in Church history.
“I don't think that they prepare to be able to teach this stuff, I mean, he was the pope for 12 years, and after there's a stretch where that becomes normal," said Stathos.
"It was a shock to our school especially," said junior Samantha Winchell. "I think he was definitely an inspiration to a lot of people in the faith and just around the world through his service and everything. He's definitely a great pope and a good one to remember.”
Instead of their usual curriculum, students have spent time this week reflecting on the pope’s legacy, learning about the rituals of mourning within the Catholic Church, and exploring what comes next with the election of a new pope through the centuries-old process of the conclave.
“The process of the conclave and election of a pope is quite interesting historically to look at," said Kelly. "We've been watching the public viewing at St. Peter's, and it's astounding how many people wanted to pay their last respects."
“We had mass on Wednesday where during the homily, we talked about his impact and what happens moving forward with the conclave and everything, and then I know for juniors, our religion classes, our usual lesson plan was kind of pushed back so we could talk about it and understand more," added Winchell.
For some, the event carries a strong emotional and spiritual weight.
"It's a weird time in our history. It's not very often that a pope dies, and we live in this like three week to a month period where we don't have a pope and have that big of influence in our life. It's kind of hard when we don't have somebody to look up to," said junior Patrick Hermanson.
“His influence led us to be how we are meant to be as Catholics, as growing Christians in our daily lives," added senior Sammie Day. “We've definitely been praying a lot more for the pope, asking God to rest his soul in heaven and hope that we one day join him when we go.”
The passing of Pope Francis is also significant for Kelly, who has taught theology at Central for over 24 years. She said that the opportunity to discuss this topic with her students in real time is rare.
“I was teaching when Benedict was elected in 2005. I was also teaching when he stepped down and then Francis was elected in 2013," said Kelly. "It was quite interesting historically to talk about a little bit because this was the only pope that my juniors knew."
Although the historical moment has temporarily pushed aside the usual curriculum, the students said it is with good reason and are engaged in the topic.
“In our senior classes, we talked more so about his death and how each pope was elected, so we're talking about the possible candidates and the conclave and who's all allowed in. It'll be interesting to see how we can learn from them, how they decide who's going to be the next pope," said Day. "It'll be good for all of us Catholics to strengthen our faith."
“It is a crazy thing to see, even if you're Catholic or not, and I'm excited to see how it plays out because obviously, I don't really remember his election, but my parents have talked about it and how that process works and I'm excited to see who ends up being our next pope," added Winchell.
For these students in the Catholic school system, it is history in the making, unfolding right in front of their eyes.
“They're young, but I just want them to get the significance of the historical aspect of it, remind them that they'll say, 'Yes, I was a junior in high school when Pope Francis passed, and I remember,'” said Kelly.
