When Pope Francis visited Washington D.C. this past week, it was evident that he truly is an important figure to Americans. It isn’t shocking that his presence is powerful because the U.S. has a relatively large Catholic population, but Pope Francis also has a significant influence on those in the Annandale community.

Members of AHS went to see him and celebrate his arrival, such as English teacher Cynthia Sebring.

“[It was] absolutely phenomenal,” Sebring said. “It was wonderful to hear him talk. You think of someone as being the head of the whole Catholic church, not the head of a local church or even a district or a county or a state, the whole world. This guy is in charge of the Catholic Church for the world, and he’s one of a long succession of popes for millenniums, literally.”

Sophomore Maurine Suarez was lucky enough to not only see the Pope in person, but to shake his hand. The experience made her so emotional that she began to tear up.

“Every time I see him on TV, him or any pope, I feel like I’m not going to see him. At some point in my life I can go to Vatican City but not be able to meet the Pope,” Suarez said. “So it just felt great to meet him and shake his hand.”

The fact that he came here means so much to students at AHS, especially to the Catholics, because he is an important leader in modern day Catholicism.

“I think it is a blessing for the U.S. that the Pope came to visit. My family is Catholic and it means a lot to us,” junior Joselyn Cabrera said. “I think all of his words touched and changed a lot of hearts. Pope Francis inspires us to do more good.”

His visit to D.C. means a lot here to the Catholics here at AHS because he is a dominant figure in their religion.

“I know many of the Hispanic families are Catholic and this is a blessing close to home. This is, it’s hard to describe, but it’s like being around someone like that who represents so much good, I’m sure for them it was exciting just knowing that they were there,” Sebring said. “A lot of people went into D.C. just to catch a glimpse, just to get one look, one photo and that’s it. For them that was enough. To be able to sit through a whole mass and get his blessing at the end of a mass was just unbelievable, you can’t believe it’s happening.”

Some students weren’t able to take the journey to D.C., but were still satisfied because they had a chance to see him speak on television.

“I loved hearing the Pope and his speeches. He is very loving, humble and what I love most about him is that he is open-minded,” junior Andrea Sanchez said. “I would have liked to have gone and listened to the mass, but sadly I didn’t have the opportunity. I did, however, listen to the mass through TV and transmitted an emotional feeling through the screen.”

Sophomore Maurine Suarez was lucky enough to not only see the Pope in person, but to shake his hand. The experience made her so emotional that she began to tear up.

“Every time I see him on TV, him or any pope, I feel like I’m not going to see him. At some point in my life I can go to Vatican City but not be able to meet the Pope,” Suarez said. “So it just felt great to meet him and shake his hand.”

The Pope didn’t solely visit D.C. to greet the civilians and give mass, his agenda also included talking to Congress about serious, modern subjects, such as the death penalty.

According to The Washington Post, the Pope said this regarding his belief that the death penalty should be abolished, “I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”

“That’s tricky for me. On one hand I see his point and that yes, if you are going to view a human being with someone with an eternal soul, then yes you need to think about the eternal consequences. Sadly we still have a prison system where people do escape and go out and do things again and people will argue, ‘well if you had executed him, then those five people wouldn’t have been dead now,’” Sebring said. “So it’s hard to know, to say everything should be just one way for everybody. I know emotions play a big role, you know the bombing in Boston, that person killed many people and maimed people for life that will never recover from their wounds. So people are thinking, what right does he have to live anywhere, even in a prison. I understand that, I really do because if that were my brother, cousin, sister that had died or lost a leg or an arm, I’d be furious, I can’t even tell you how upset I would be about that.”

Some Catholic students are excited to see the Pope confront issues in society because they value his opinion.

“I like that he’s from the global south,” junior Sacha Silva said. “He understands the struggles that most of the world faces and therefore knows which problems are most pressing in the world and raises awareness for them, as well as creating a more liberal platform for the church.”