Latest news with #St.AugustineSeminaryHighSchool
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
New Lenox Augustinian Sisters reflect on their time with Robert Prevost
In his first official appointment, Pope Leo named a woman to head a major Vatican office. Sister Simona Brambilla is now the prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church's religious orders. Nuns at the Augustinian Nuns Monastery in New Lenox celebrated the appointment and their new Holy Father. Bob Prevost was a frequent visitor to the monastery as an adult. Ninety-year-old Sister Carmen Miravalles and 87-year-old Sister Mary of Good Counsel Villar met the pope in 1969 at St. Augustine Seminary High School. Special Section: Pope Leo 'We've known him for many, many years,' Sister Miravalles said. 'We love him.''I remember he was very kind, also very special,' Sister Mary of Good Counsel Villar Augustinian order asked the women to move from Spain to provide the seminarians with an example of a contemplative life.'Our life was dedicated to prayer,' Sister Mary of Good Counsel Villar said. Young Bob Prevost often showed his appreciation to the sisters.'He would come with baskets of apples for the sisters and (was) very helpful, very easy to help us in anything that we needed,' Sister Miravalles said. When Prevost was elected pope, it was evidence of the power of prayer over a lifetime.'I know he will be a very good pontiff because the whole time he has been like our brother,' Sister Mary of Good Counsel Villar said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Seminary schoolmate reflects on Pope Leo's humble beginnings at St. Augustine Seminary High School
Few people have known Pope Leo for as long as those who attended St. Augustine Seminary High School with him. Seminary schoolmate Father Thomas Becket Franks saw the signs that Robert Prevost was special more than five decades ago. Walking in to the St. Procopious Abbey in Lisle, Illinois, Father Thomas 'Becket' Franks is – in some ways – walking down memory lane. Sifting through his yearbooks from St. Augustine Seminary High School in Holland, Michigan, he has found photos of his most famous schoolmate: Robert Prevost, the man who would become Pope Leo XIV. 'Probably the most humble person I've ever met and yet at the same time, the most helpful person,' he said. Father Becket, as he's known in the abbey, was a sophomore when Prevost arrived in the St. Augustine dorms as a freshman in the fall of 1969. Special Coverage: Pope Leo 'We were away from family, away from neighborhood friends,' he said. 'Bob, as I still refer to him, was quiet but involved in everything.' Prevost was a member of the student government, debate team, tennis team and patriotism club – a group that discussed U.S. politics, government and the nation's role in current events. 'When you spoke with him or talked to him, he listened intently. He would look right at you, and listen intently,' Father Becket said. 'What he was doing was formulating a response, or how to respond to you. It was never flippant, nothing really quick. He was never 'off the cuff.' Even in discussions you knew what he was saying he had been thinking about for a while.' Prevost was a member of the Reader's Theatre. Each year, each class at St. Augustine would write a comedic play spoofing life at the seminary. Pope Leo's singing sparks global social media campaign to unite believers 'He liked to portray Father Jim Sheridan. Now, at the time and as a high school kid, Bob had a lot of hair, a lot of hair. I think even curly, or wavy I should say. But Father Jim Sheridan was bald. So, as part of that portrayal of Jim Sheridan, Bob would put a hat on and made his mutton chops on his face, because Father Jim Sheridan had big sideburns,' Father Becket said. Pervost's outfit predated the Blues Brothers, but he was clearly 'on a mission from God.' Father Becket said one of Prevost's favorite activities was singing and the school chorus. 'He's a great singer,' he said. 'You can hear it now when he chants at mass.' More: Augustinian order's principles reflected in Pope Leo's life At the villa at St. Benedict Senior Living Community, Father Becket serves as chaplain. He celebrated mass in the century-old Sacred Heart Chapel, where he now quotes his own classmate. 'Everyday I've been adding some words from Pope Leo … so basically every day is a little teaching from someone I know and went to high school with,' he said. He has known Pope Leo for 56 years. The two still correspond. They'll always be connected by their shared experience at the seminary and in the pages of these yearbooks, which he signed with the same clarity and warmth that defines his priesthood: 'Tom, best of luck always, Bob Prevost.' 'I look back now 50-some years on and I see the beginnings of holiness and great maturity. A great thinker and a great gift to the world,' Father Becket said. 'I think he learned the way of holiness. I think we're going to encounter an extremely holy person, and every time I look at him now, I'm thinking I can see the beginnings of a saint way back in high school.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘He's the right guy,' says Holland man who went to school with pope
HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — The fields surrounding the Felt Mansion once stood the halls of St. Augustine Seminary High School. It would be these grounds where Pope Leo XIV would forge the building blocks that would take him to the Vatican. Former classmate Dan King remembers those same buildings. 'They were just raising good, intelligent, productive males for society,' he said. King attended the school as a high school freshman from Dalton, Illinois, in 1969, just blocks away from a young Robert Prevost. It was a challenging yet worthwhile experience for King. New pope attended Catholic high school in West Michigan 'Everything was scheduled and a lot of prayer, a lot of mass, every day education and you had to do physical work and all the rest of that kind of stuff. It was competitive grades,' King said. 'You had to really, you know, do your work. And it was tough. So, the people were not making it for that reason. Or they left because they said they didn't have the calling anymore, right? They didn't feel like they wanted to go to the seminary anymore.' His class of 50 students would graduate as a group of 10, something common for the school. While the work was competitive, King said it prepared him for life. It also prepared him in being part of the steering committee creating Corpus Christi Catholic School in Holland, where King serves as a Board of Education member. 'They were just raising good, intelligent, productive males for society,' he said. King remembers Prevost arriving at the school during his sophomore year. 'Down the hallway, I remember some guys, they were two other kids in my class. They came running down the hallway and they said, 'Dan, Dan, guess what?' And I said, 'What?' 'We just met somebody who's smarter than you.' And I'm like, 'Really?' And I went down to meet him. And I walked away from it saying, 'I think he's smarter than me,'' he said. Yearbook pages are filled with photos of King and Prevost. In one, the young teens gather around a table as part of the club that published the 'Encounter,' the seminary's yearbook. In another, the two stand in a group as part of the National Honor Society chapter. In another photo, Prevost is seen playing tennis. Pope's brother answers burning local question: Chicago White Sox or Cubs fan? King said Prevost was dedicated to the competitive academics of the seminary. 'I remember him being, he was very humble, very, very humble, very quiet. But he was really nice, and I think 'That guy's going to, he's going to go someplace,'' he said. King couldn't guess that one of those places would be as the head of the catholic church. He said his wife was anxiously waiting for the announcement, as white smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chapel, signifying that a pope had been elected. 'She's hoping it's going to be, she knows, she feels. 'I hope it's Bob, I hope it's Bob' And I'm thinking, well, that would be nice, and she says 'No, I feel it.'' Robert Prevost becomes first American pope of the Catholic Church: What to know There's still some shock as he remembers Thursday's announcement. 'It's just an amazing, amazing that I would know a pope. You know, that I would have even gone to school with a pope. You know, a normal guy, grows up a normal kid just doing normal kid stuff, and he's now in charge of what, 1.8 billion Catholics,' he said. Looking back at Prevost's volunteer work around Holland, Douglas and the lakeshore to the years of mission work in Peru, King said the new pope will guide the church through shifting waters. 'I think he's going to be a good guy for it. He's the right guy. I can tell. When I saw him walk out of the balcony, he was about to cry,' he said. King hopes telling his stories and experiences with Pope Leo will inspire the next generation of Catholics by showing the highs a person can reach from humble beginnings Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Video emerges showing new Pope Leo XIV dancing and singing karaoke at party
Social media users have been charmed by a video shared online of Pope Leo XIV from more than a decade ago of him singing songs in Peru, where he has dual nationality A charming video has been shared of the new pope singing with friends at a Christmas party during his time as an archbishop in Peru. The 267th pontiff to sit on the hallowed throne of St Peter, Pope Leo XIV, follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, remembered for his more tolerant, liberal approach to Catholicism. In the early days of his papacy people are still getting to know Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost. Earlier it was revealed the new pontiff is a Chicago Cubs baseball fan and a maths whizz and now a previous acquaintance has shared a sweet video of Pope Leo from a chance meeting more than a decade ago. Never expecting the priest they were introduced to would one day ascend to the head of the Roman Catholic church, they joined him in a singalong. The charming footage has since been shared widely across social media, as the future pontiff sang the Spanish Christmas classic Feliz Navidad with a live band. Alongside the footage, the user wrote on X: 'At our 2014 Christmas gathering, we were introduced to Monsignor Roberto. We were charmed by his simplicity. "We never imagined we were meeting the man who would become the new Pope. The boys from Josif Chiclayo will always remember him. God bless you.' One impressed user wrote in reply: 'How beautiful, my friend! I love you love him so much, and I was so moved to see him. Congratulations, you deserve it! A Pope with Peruvian citizenship is great!' Another added: 'I hope you can soon take group trips to visit the Holy Father Leo XIV. He will be very happy to see you again.' In an interview with CBS News Chicago, Pope Leo's elder brother, John Prevost, reminisced about their shared childhood and how the future pontiff's theological ambitions became apparent from a very early age. Retired Catholic school principal John recalled: "You know how some kids like to play war, and be soldiers, and some girls want to play dolls, and be housewives. He wanted to play priest, and so he took our mom's ironing board, and put a tablecloth over it, and we had to go to mass. "We went to mass, and he knew everything. "He knew the prayers in Latin, he knew his prayers in English, and he did that all the time. He took it totally serious. It was not a joke, it was not a game. He was dead serious about it.' An academic student, Leo was on the honour roll at St. Augustine Seminary High School, where he was even presented with a Letter of Commendation for his outstanding results. After completing his studies in 1973, Leo went on to attend Villanova University, a private Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was here where, in 1977, the multi-talented young pope-to-be graduated with a degree in mathematics. He spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru, becoming a cardinal only two years ago in 2023. He was twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinian religious order - founded in the 13th Century by St Augustine. The order operates in 50 countries and focuses on a life of community and equality among its members. In 2014, Francis moved him from the Augustinian leadership back to Peru in 2014, where he served as an administrator and later, archbishop of Chiclayo.
Axios
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Pope Leo XIV has roots in west Michigan
Pope Leo XIV's Midwestern roots extend to west Michigan, where he attended a seminary high school near Holland. The big picture: Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, is the first American pope and now heads a church with some 1.4 billion members worldwide. Zoom in: Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago and grew up in a suburb just south of the city. He had an interest in the priesthood at an early age, enrolling in St. Augustine Seminary High School in Allegan County, the New York Times reported. Flashback: Kalamazoo Bishop Edward Lohse met Prevost in 2023 at a conference, where they discussed his ties to Michigan, Lohse told the Detroit News. What they're saying:"Not only do we know him now as our pope, but he also knows us because he was a priest here in western Michigan," Lohse told the News. Wes Rehwoldt, who was the pope's classmate at St. Augustine and later Villanova University, said he cried when he heard of Prevost's selection on TV. "We really didn't think there was a big chance that that was going to happen, until the announcement came and they said 'Robert Francis' — and I couldn't hear anything else," Rehwoldt, 69, told the Times. Zoom out: Leo's power will transcend the faith community as he assumes a role with vast diplomatic and social influence. The new pope is generally seen to be continuing the more progressive stances that Pope Francis voiced — a more open, inclusive church focused on giving voice to the voiceless. A verified account by his name has retweeted and shared critical posts about the Trump administration, and he's spoken out against the environment's deterioration. The new pope also said he does not believe in " clericalizing women" in the Catholic Church and opposes abortion.
