Pictures can only tell some of the story of a trip that Professor Dan Cosacchi and other faculty and staff members with the University of Scranton had while in Europe last week.<\/p>\n
“Probably over a decade now, every year after graduation, we bring faculty and staff to major sites that were important in the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Saint Ignatius founded the Jesuits. The Jesuits are the founders of the University of Scranton, so it’s important for us to go back to our roots,” said Cosacchi.<\/p>\n
Stopping in places like Montserrat and Manresa in Spain, Cosacchi says their journey crossed paths with the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n
“Pope Leo threw a wrench in our plans, and, uh, so we only got to spend one day at Montserrat. But as it turned out, we ended up seeing Pope Leo the day after we left Montserrat,” said Cosacchi. “We went down the mountain and went to Barcelona, and Pope Leo was just leaving, uh, his residence in Barcelona when we were there.”<\/p>\n
Through luck or maybe divine intervention, the group crossed paths with the first pope born in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Joined by a few dozen others, Leo gave a brief blessing that only lasted 30 seconds or so, but created a moment that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n
“Personally, it’s very edifying. It’s, it’s a great thing to be able to, to be able to see it and, you know, it makes me feel closer to the pope, and I had on one occasion seen Pope Francis, and now this is the second occasion that I’ve had the opportunity to see Pope Leo in person,” said Cosacchi.<\/p>\n