A pilgrimage to Italy was exciting enough. But it got even better when eighth graders from the Basilica School of St. Mary in Alexandria took part in a viral video with Pope Leo XIV April 8.
As the pope was greeting visitors in the popemobile during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square, students from St. Mary’s caught his attention as they held up boxes of Peeps candy. The smiling pope motioned for them to hand the boxes, already scanned by the Swiss Guard, to an assistant. Clearly enjoying the moment, Pope Leo XIV graciously acknowledged the gifts and gave the students a blessing.
“Pope Leo’s brother said in an interview that his favorite treat is Peeps,” said Father Peter J. Clem, parochial vicar of the basilica. “So we did our research and some moms brought boxes of Peeps and gave them to the kids. We knew where the popemobile was going to go by and we had a great position. It worked out well.”
EWTN recorded the interaction and the Facebook reel went viral, soon garnering more than 33,000 likes and hundreds of shares.
Father Clem, who was on his first pilgrimage to Rome, is still amazed by it all. “One of the dads pointed out that no other world leader has a free event weekly with thousands upon thousands of people, where he drives around and comes into such close contact,” he said. “And then he speaks and welcomes people from the whole world in eight different languages.”
The pilgrimage is an annual event for St. Mary’s eighth graders to celebrate their confirmation. They also went to Assisi to visit the holy sites of Sts. Francis, Agnes, Clare and Carlo Acutis.
“We were on pilgrimage, we weren’t on vacation,” said Father Clem. “It’s an image of the journey to heaven that we’re on. It was a great witness for our young people to know that they can be saints as well. They can see pictures, read books or watch a movie about the lives of the saints, but to actually go to the places where they lived is significant. We can be encouraged that sanctity is possible. We’re all called to holiness.”
The experience was a “dream scenario” for Father Clem, who is devoted to inspiring youths to live a Christ-like life as a member of the Youth Apostles. “To walk with young people and to help lead them to the church is what fills my heart most with joy,” he said. “To help them fall in love with God, through the sacraments and through his church in such a profound way, was truly a blessing.”
