A Warm, Joyous Welcome to Pope Francis!

The Trinity community joyously welcomed Pope Francis to Washington, D.C., September 22 – 24, 2015, as he came to the United States for the first time since becoming the Pope. Trinity students, faculty, staff, graduates and Sisters of Notre Dame were at the Mass at the Basilica and on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol during his historic address to the Joint Congress. Some were even at Andrews Joint Base for the Pope’s arrival and at the White House for his remarks there. Read President McGuire’s blog posts, “Voices and Images of Trinity: Reflections on Pope Francis” for the experiences and photos from these wonderful days, and her blog post anticipating the arrival of Pope Francis: “Mercy, Compassion, Hope.”

Media Coverage

President McGuire appeared on Aljazeera America, with host Ray Suarez; National Catholic Reporter senior analyst commentator Fr. Thomas Reese; author Paul Vallely, in a live broadcast to discuss the Pope’s address to Congress, while, at the same time, shown on a split screen, Pope Francis was preparing for Evening Prayers in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Trinity student Alexis de la Rosa talked about the pride she felt about the Pope celebrating mass in Spanish in a Catholic News Service video.

President McGuire provided the lead quote – and the last quote – in a Wall Street Journal article about the back-to-back visits of Pope Francis and China President Xi Jinping.

President McGuire was interviewed for an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “For Many U.S. Catholic Colleges, This Pope May Be a Blessing.” The article notes that, “Although Pope Francis has not issued major pronouncements specifically about higher education, ‘the issues that he has spoken of are issues that animate our mission every day,’ says Patricia A. McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, which has revived itself in recent decades by focusing on the education of financially disadvantaged African-American and Latina women.” The article concluded with additional observations from President McGuire: “Among the leaders of Catholic colleges making plans to honor the pope during his visit, Ms. McGuire, the president of Trinity Washington University, says Pope Francis ‘has captured the imagination of students’ in ways that his predecessors did not. ‘Pope Francis is with it,’ she says. ‘He takes selfies. He knows how to use social media — or, at least, his staff does. He talks about issues,’ she says — such as mercy, justice, and the environment — ‘that my students at Trinity really, really care about a lot.'” The article included a link to a video profile of Trinity produced by the Chronicle in March 2015.

Learning More About Pope Francis!

The Pope’s visit was an opportunity, both in and out of the classroom, to learn more about the inner-workings of the Vatican and the broad appeal of Pope Francis. Prior to the arrival of Pope Francis, students participated in “The Visit of Pope Francis to the U.S.: An Interdisciplinary View,” which focused on his papacy and the important issues he is focusing on. Sponsored by the Billiart Center for Social Justice at Trinity, the program featured faculty perspectives from Sr. Mary Johnson, SND, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies, and Sr. Camilla Burns, SND, ’60, Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies.

Students, faculty and staff gathered in Social Hall to watch a live broadcast of his address to Congress, followed by a dialogue about his remarks led by Sr. Mary Johnson, SND.