When the anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s historic election as the first American pontiff drew nearer, leaders at St. Agnes Church in Arlington saw it as an opportunity to engage youths at the parish and school.
They launched a papal poster-board contest in which teams of students devised a theme related to Pope Leo and curated images over several weeks to bring the trifold boards to life. Father Ricky Malebranche, parochial vicar, blessed the exhibit in the church narthex at the conclusion of a school Mass May 8, 2026, the anniversary of the pope’s election. It is on display through May 10, first Communion weekend at the parish.
“I’ve never seen Pope Leo so many times in one day,” joked Legionaries Father Vito Crincoli, who organized the competition in hopes it would help students more closely identify with the pope as someone who also grew up in an American Catholic community. At the conclusion of Mass and just prior to the blessing, hands shot up throughout the church as he quizzed the students about Pope Leo’s favorite kind of pizza (pepperoni, or pope-a-roni to Chicagoans), baseball team (the Chicago White Sox) and sneakers (Nike).
“It’s not every day that we have an American pope. And there’s so much about Pope Leo’s life that’s just so human,” Father Vito said. “The pope is not just a man who wears vestments. He has a lot to show. He’s a missionary. He loves baseball.”
The initiative began as a project for students participating in Conquest, a Legionaries youth ministry for boys fourth grade and up. The parallel Challenge program serves parish girls. It expanded to include other students from the school. Father Vito spiced up the competition by offering ice cream sundaes to members of the winning team, still to be determined.
Fourth grader Colin Gallagher helped mount photos on a board titled “Pope Leo and kids,” including one image of him blessing a baby. “I think it went very well,” Gallagher said. “It was a fun thing to help with.”
At the conclusion of the exhibit, Father Vito will prepare a summary. He’ll hand it over to a fellow Legionaries priest who hails from the same Chicagoland — and Augustinian — parish attended by John Prevost, the pope’s brother. He hopes the priest will deliver it to Prevost during his next trip to the Windy City and, just maybe, the pope will know how much people in Arlington are praying for him.
Schweers can be reached at [email protected].
