Papal visit on CUA campus excites Catholic students active in faith

Published: 2008-02-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Late-night talks with friends about life and faith are common in the dorm rooms of The Catholic University of America. Talking about the Catholic Church in class is pretty normal, too. But a pope on campus? That's something many students agree is unusual and exciting. "I can't even fathom the fact that he (Pope Benedict XVI) may be walking up the same stairs that I use to go to Starbucks before I go to class," said Kelly O'Connor, a sophomore early-childhood-development major from outside Philadelphia. Like the more than 6,000 students at Catholic University, O'Connor found out from a November campuswide e-mail about Pope Benedict's April 17 stop on campus to address U.S. Catholic education officials. The pope will visit Washington and New York April 15-20. Although students are not invited to the talk, university officials have said the students should be able to see the papal entourage enter and leave the campus.

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