After a little more than a week of “Pope Francis Meets the World,” one thing is abundantly clear: this is going to be the Catholic ride of a lifetime. The Vatican Bank’s finances have come under internal scrutiny in recent months, but an allowable expense is coming.

Since the surprise election of Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope Francis, have you been able to read and learn more about him? Yes. I’ve been reading the releases on the Vatican Information Service, and I’ve been reading stories in the newspapers and on several websites.

First Sgt. Vincent Heller received a hero’s welcome in triplicate on March 1. “Dad!” Gus Heller exclaimed, as he jumped from his desk in English class to hug his dad. “What are you doing here!” fifth grader Marigny Heller, 11, screamed and then embraced her dad.

It was like “stepping into heaven” for a weekend, said Carol Weiler and Dominican Father Marty Gleeson about the sixth annual “Lord, Teach Me to Pray” weekend of prayer Feb. 28-March 3 in Kenner. “It’s all prayer,” said Father Gleeson, the spiritual advisor and assistant to Weiler.

“Do you really know who you are in your heart?” writer/director Elvin Ross asked St. Augustine High School’s student body Feb. 26 at the school’s black history month celebration. “I want to introduce you to ‘Kunta Kinteh Island.’” Students clapped as the opening song to the documentary “Kunta Kinteh Island: Coming Home Without Shackles” played.

With cooks like Leah Chase in his parish family, Edmundite Father Michael Jacques says he’s happy to yield to the pros when it comes to one particular dish. “I have no idea how to make gumbo – none. My thinking is there are too many great gumbo cooks in this city and in this parish for me to cook it,” said Father Jacques, a native of Maine and culinary school-trained cook who has prepared his own meals in the St. Peter Claver rectory since becoming pastor in 1984.

Brad Giacone takes heart in a passage from St. John’s Gospel in which Jesus, although clearly unsettled about his looming death, wholly embraces it. “Jesus is stressed, even though he is God,” Giacone notes.

Academy of the Sacred Heart fourth grader Caroline Nusloch sums up her love for running like this: “It’s my race, my pace.” “When I started running, I would try to run as fast as I could,” Caroline said, “but then I realized that my pace didn’t matter – as long as I finished!” Positive attitudes like Caroline’s are the norm among the 26 Sacred Heart third, fourth and fifth graders who participate in “Girls on the Run,” an optional afterschool program that uses the power of running to prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living.

When placed in the hands of a beginner, the violin has the capacity to make listeners cringe and wish they had earplugs. But when the Ituah siblings of Kenner confidently run their bows across their violins’ four strings, even simple tunes such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” rise to another level.

On Divine Mercy’s recent weekend retreat in Hattiesburg, Miss., this Scripture came alive. I attended the retreat to grow in my relationship with God and grow closer in community with other Catholic teens.

Cuccidata in the shape of hearts, crosses, fish, the letters J.O.E. and even the African continent were created March 2 by Xavier University of Louisiana students for the university’s second annual St. Joseph Altar.

With new blood comes new ideas for any organization. For the Sisters of the Holy Family, candidate Ernestine Bard and aspirant Damekia Jerry, both converts from the Baptist faith, wanted to do something in addition to praying alone for the success of the conclave of cardinals who will soon select a new pope.

You must be excited that the exhibit on Blessed John Paul II is now open to the public at the New Orleans Museum of Art. What are your most vivid memories of his 1987 visit? I was one of the masters of ceremony for the outdoor Mass at the University of New Orleans, and, like everyone else, I remember the rain coming down in buckets as we were waiting for the Mass to get started.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted March 15-24 PARISHES ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS, a day of music and inspiration with Dan Caro and the N.O.

‘Classmates’ in 50th year New Orleans Congratulations on the Clarion’s 50th anniversary. We are “classmates,” since I finished my seminary training that same year. I remember how excited we were at North American College in Rome to receive a copy of the first issue sent by air mail.

So many people had to go to Google immediately to find out more about Cardinal Bergoglio after he was announced as Pope Francis. Had you heard of him before? He was on some of the lists of the 12 to 15 cardinals – out of the 115 cardinal electors –   who probably were going to receive serious consideration as the next Holy Father.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 76, was elected the 266th pope and took the name Pope Francis. He was the first Jesuit to be elected pope. The election March 13 came on the second day of the conclave, presumably on the fifth ballot.

This year seems to be flying by. It continually amazes me that we’re already in March and that the end of the school year is in sight. With this realization, of course, comes the stress of knowing all that has yet to be accomplished.

The annual Southern Regional Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, with the theme “Fear Not, Only Believe,” will be held April 5-7 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. The theme is taken from the words of Jesus before healing the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:36).

A good week it was not for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. On the Friday of the girls’ 4A state semifinal in Hammond, three teams were preparing for the game. Vandebilt Catholic and St. Michael took the court to warmup.