Pope Francis Friday

Welcome back! There are a lot of memorabilia and mementos floating around to commemorate Pope Francis’ visit to the United States… and his trip is still nearly a month away! But I think this is a good thing.Much of the merchandise out there comes in the form of books and specialty magazines. The magazines that I have seen detail the pope’s life and interesting aspects about the papacy in general. One of my two favorite pieces of papal products is a comic book titled “Pope Francis: I Believe in Mercy” by Regina Doman and art by Sean Lam. 

 The story starts with Pope Francis’ call to the priesthood up to his being named pope. It’s a wonderfully enjoyable read. It includes quotes from Pope Francis’ speeches and public addresses. It also includes the drawing of the Coat of Arms of Pope Francis with his motto, “Miserando Atque Eligendo.” The motto was taken from a homily by the late 7th and early 8th century St. Bede and refers to the call of St. Matthew by Jesus and when translated means: “Because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him.”

I learned so much after reading the comic book. It made me see Pope Francis in a new way and helped me to get excited about his upcoming visit.

Have you seen or read anything about Pope Francis that you didn’t know before? Share what you learned and how it made you feel in a sentence or two in the comments below. Everyone who answers will be entered in a random drawing with the chance to win a fun piece of Pope Francis merchandise… a bobblehead! All answers must be in by noon on Monday, August 31, 2015 to be eligible.

Have fun! And don’t forget to keep posting on @Catholic_NY with the hashtag #PopeFrancisFriday with your personal stories about papal visits.