Since its foundation in 1887, CUA has been honored with the visits of many presidents and is the only university in America that has been blessed with, soon-to-be, three papal visits. If you want to read more about all these visits, read The Archivist’s Nook: A Brief Meditation on Presidents, Popes, and Power on the Eve of Pope Francis’ Visit.

I was privileged to have been President for one of those visits, that of Pope Benedict XVI on April 17, 2008. In the days leading up to his arrival, the excitement and anticipation of the CUA community, especially the students, electrified the campus. For myself, I still couldn’t believe it when the limousine pulled up to the Pryz and the Holy Father stepped out.

Aside from the very important speech he delivered to Catholic educators inside, Pope Benedict XVI was clearly moved by the cheers and singing of the students on the lawn in front of the law school. He even referred to his visit to CUA in an interview later on as one of the highlights of his U.S. trip.

“CUA Rocks the Pope” one of the student banners proudly proclaimed. To be there with him that day, to address and introduce him, to share that event with so many students, faculty, staff, and Catholic university presidents and school superintendents from around the country, was one of the greatest moments of my life, certainly of my presidency.

I hope and pray that the September visit this year of Pope Francis will engender the same enthusiasm and excitement for everyone at CUA as the Pope’s visit did on that beautiful April day seven years ago.

— Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., bishop of Trenton, was the 14th president of the Catholic University of America (1998-2010).

For the Catholic faithful, a papal visit is always historic.

For one university in the nation’s capital, the upcoming visit of Pope Francis provides special bragging rights: It will be the third papal stop at the Catholic University of America in less than 40 years.

Pope John Paul II came in 1979, and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, came in 2008.

The university in Northeast Washington is a natural destination for a traveling pontiff. Founded in 1887 under a papal charter, Catholic U. is overseen by a board that includes numerous bishops and other church clerics. It is not just affiliated with the church; it is the church’s national university in the United States. Catholic U. has schools in fields such as nursing, business, philosophy, engineering, music, arts and sciences. It has a law school and a school of canon law.

The announcement of the pope’s visit was well-timed for the university. It informed its community, including admitted students, of the plans on April 27. That was just before the May 1 deadline for admitted students to decide where to enroll.

University officials are busy planning for the gathering on Sept. 23. On that day, Francis plans to celebrate Mass outdoors on the east portico of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. During the service, to be held in Spanish, the pope will canonize the 18th-century missionary Blessed Junípero Serra.

Officials told The Washington Post this week that the 6,700 students at the university will get that Wednesday off. Most classes also will be canceled the evening before. But officials said they are trying to impress on students that it’s not just about a celebrity coming to campus. “This is first and foremost a religious experience and the first canonization Mass in the U.S.,” said university spokesman Victor Nakas.

> Read more

John Garvey

These are the Kodak Moments of the papal visits (today, I suppose they would be Instagrammed). As we prepare to welcome Pope Francis to campus on September 23, these are the sorts of moments we imagine and look forward to.

But there are also many practical preparations that are inevitable parts of such an event. The Facilities Maintenance and Operations staff at the University are busy preparing the grounds for the papal visit. Folding chairs must be rented. Audio and video systems will have to be set up for recording and broadcasting the papal Mass. These sorts of preparations are less exciting than the actual visit. Such practical matters can seem like distractions from more spiritual things. And they can be. It reminds me of the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke. Martha is so busy preparing things and serving Jesus that she misses out on his visit, while her sister Mary sits at the Lord’s feet.

But there is another story in the gospels that also comes to my mind as we prepare our campus to welcome Pope Francis. Before he celebrated the Last Supper, Jesus sent his disciples to make arrangements for securing the upper room to celebrate the Passover. They went into the city, they scouted out the space, and they made a reservation. These utterly practical matters were part of the preparation for the institution of the Eucharist.

Christ established a visible Church, a Church that has faces and takes up space and occasionally sits in folding chairs. And as the Second Vatican Council observed in Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church, the visible and spiritual elements of the Church are not two separate realities, “They form one complex reality which coalesces from a divine and a human element.” One of the most remarkable things about our faith is that we believe that God works through these human elements to accomplish his plan for the world.

Seen in this light, the practical preparations for Pope Francis’s visit seem anything but mundane.

— John Garvey is President of The Catholic University of America.

John J. Convey, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Professor of Education and Former Provost (1997 to 2007)

John Convey

It will be a thrill to be present at the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in September. It’s a great honor for the University and a tribute to the University’s contributions to the Church. This visit will mark the third time that a pope has visited CUA. I was also present during the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979 and for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. For Pope John Paul’s visit all the faculty was gathered in the old gymnasium, which now houses the School of Architecture and Planning. Cameras were popping everywhere when he entered the building. I was also fortunate to be invited with Catholic educators all over the country to hear Pope Benedict speak in the Great Room of the Pryzbyla Center in 2008. They say, “The third time is a charm.” I look forward to the visit in September.

Marion Gosney, Director, Office of Alumni Relations

Marion Gosney

I was on campus for Pope Benedict’s visit in 2008. I had no idea how exciting it would be! It started with local news tracking the journey of the (vacant) popemobile to campus. Numerous news trucks with 20-foot antennas lined the sidewalk in front of McMahon, where our office was, three or four days before the event. Recognizable news anchors could be seen around campus. I volunteered both days of the papal visit, directing visitors to campus and then assisting journalists while perched on scaffolding, and would not have missed the scene for anything!

Victor Nakas, Associate Vice President for Public Affairs

Victor Nakas

I’ve only had the experience of seeing one pope at the University. I remember well the dozens of TV trucks that were arrayed on our campus, some of them in front of McMahon Hall. We had hundreds of journalists who were either in the Pryz or on the University Mall or University Lawn during that two-day period. Many of them used a press center that we set up on campus for them. It was an incredibly exciting time for the members of our communications committee. It was also one of the most complicated projects I’ve ever been associated with. I’m fortunate that about half of the current staff in the Office of Public Affairs was involved in helping organize Pope Benedict’s visit, so we can apply that collective experience to the upcoming visit.

Frank Persico, Vice President for University Relations and Chief of Staff

Frank Persico

I have been blessed to see two popes on our campus and to be involved in planning for a third. Pope John Paul II came to Catholic University in 1979. What I remember most vividly about the visit was when the Holy Father walked down the center aisle of what is now the Crough Center. It was decorated from top to bottom — it was our gym at the time, as folks may know. The security was nothing like it is these days. I was a volunteer usher in that aisle at the event and when the Pope walked by, I put out my hand and he brushed up against it — a quick attempt at a handshake. I remember it today as if it just happened.

When Pope Benedict came to campus in 2008, students had the chance to see him twice. On April 16 he came to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to meet with the U.S. bishops. Crowds (about 11,000 folks) gathered on the University Mall were able to see him enter the Basilica via the east steps (the same area where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass). The next day he came to the Pryz to deliver an address in the Great Room. Students gathered on the University Lawn (between the Pryz and the law school) had a chance to see Pope Benedict coming and going to the Pryz and to view his address on a jumbo screen. If someone were to ever ask me what my greatest accomplishment at Catholic University is, I would say without a doubt that planning a venue for our students to see the Holy Father and watch both his Mass at Nationals Park and the address on that jumbo screen would be it. Most students, I recall, wore baseball-type shirts with the name “Benedict” on the back along with the number “16.” That whole scene was really special.

Shavaun Wall, Professor of Education

Shavaun Wall

I was in the audience for Pope Benedict’s presentation in the Great Room of the Pryz. It was an honor to be among representatives of Catholic education (both Catholic schools and Catholic colleges and universities) from across our nation who heard the Pope’s thoughts on education. The campus community provided a tremendous welcome. I remember being seated just three rows away from the special chair the architecture students designed, awaiting the Pope’s arrival. The lawn behind the Pryz was packed with students, faculty, and community members. A great roar went up when the Pope arrived. There was such anticipation, then the joy of the visit.

Pope John Paul II visited very early in my career at CUA. This was years before the Pryz was built. So the Pope addressed the faculty and guests in what is now the Crough Center (but at that time was CUA’s gym!). CUA transformed the gym with white and gold draping. The faculty wore academic attire. We were very excited to be present. I never imagined that three popes would visit CUA during my career. CUA really does enjoy a special relationship with the Holy See.