LUIS ANDRES HENAO AP has good news for us about young Catholics and just what they think of the new Pope.
— While other students might be in class or socializing at lunch, a group of young Catholics attends Mass every weekday at noon at the Princeton University Chapel.
“I feel that there’s a resurgence of Catholicism today,” said Nelson, who was religiously unaffiliated until last year when he converted to Catholicism. “You see people who are passionate about their faith. There’s a new wave coming, and we’re going to have more converts like me, who are coming from the ‘nones.’”
“Something that did bring me a lot of hope is Pope Leo has a missionary background,” said Ace Acuna, a Princeton alumni. He recently attended a Mass at the chapel before beginning a nearly five-week Catholic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles.
“In a world where in some places it might look like faith is on the decline, a church that’s willing to go out to the margins and evangelize and be on mission, that’s going to be so important,” Acuna said.
And from Catholics at the the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were elated by his election — and reinvigorated in practicing their faith.
“Being able to live out my faith in this extremely secular campus is such a blessing to me,” said student Daniel Vanisko, a lifelong Catholic, later adding in an email that the pope’s election “really helps me to draw closer to my faith, seeing that someone that grew up in the same state as me, is the successor of Peter in the Church.”
Cavan Morber, a rising junior, said attending UIUC “gives me chance to be challenged in my beliefs, think critically about what I believe, and share my faith with others.”
Asked in an email exchange about the pope’s election, Morber replied: “What a time to be alive!”
At Diocese of Palm Beach we agree it’s a great time to be alive!
Read the full article: https://apnews.com/article/us-catholic-college-students-pope-528f011b0079228e43f27e180c1397ac
