'Dear Pope Benedict' - Catholic students invite pontiff to school

WADENA, Minn. (The St. Cloud Visitor) - If you invite him, he will come. Well, he might, anyway. That was the logic that filled the heads of children at St. Ann School in Wadena as they carefully formed petals with ink-covered fingertips on a special invitation destined for Vatican City.

The invitation will give Pope Benedict XVI first dibs on one of the limited 325 seats at the April 13 Springfest celebration in St. Ann Parish in Wadena. "Maybe he'll come," said third-grader Joe Wallgren, expressing the sentiments of students and staff. St. Ann's staff members collaborated in designing and writing the invitation. The children's fingerprint flowers personalized the invitation. The invitation was mailed Jan. 30. "It's cool," Wallgren said, about inviting the pope. The idea was sparked from a staff brainstorming session. Staff members had toyed with the notion of inviting the pope to last year's Springfest, but decided to go ahead with it this year. They timed the creation of the invitation to coincide with Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, knowing the activity would generate a buzz around the school as students added their personal floral touches to the invitation. "The kids are very excited," said Shelley Steffens, kindergarten and first grade teacher at the school, although "it's hard for them to imagine the pope coming." Father Don Wagner, pastor of St. Ann's and of St. John the Baptist Parish in Bluffton,Minn., said that just the idea of inviting Pope Benedict to the occasion makes the idea of the universal Roman Catholic church more real. When the pope's name is mentioned at the eucharistic prayer during Mass, he could seem more real to them because they sent him a letter. "Doing this will give them a sense that Pope Benedict is the shepherd of the whole church," he said, adding that no harm but only good can come from making the invitation. "They ran it by me and I said, 'Why not?' " he said. If the pontiff would be come, he could participate in a Springfest champagne reception, elegant dinner, live auction and even have a chance of winning a real diamond. Plus, he would have the chance of a lifetime of meeting the people of Wadena. And, it would be a mutual lifetime opportunity. "I would be really excited," said third-grader Jarrett Pettit. Father Wagner said that if the school should receive a response from the Vatican, it would be "icing on the cake." Just the invitation itself is already generating excitement and anticipation for the Springfest. Whether the pope will accept the invitation is yet unknown. But, if he does want to come, he might want to not dawdle about R.S.V.P.ing. The limited tickets for Springfest go on sale soon.

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of the Catholic The St. Cloud Visitor (www.stcloudvisitor.org), official newspaper of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minn.