HELENA — The first 100 days of leadership for the Catholic Church under Pope Leo XIV have been a period marked by tradition, transition, and a test of spiritual vision, something Carroll College has felt from nearly 5000 miles away.
“What a perfect way to begin the semester together, where we have had an opportunity to get to know Pope Leo XIV a bit better, but we also get to come together as a community,” said Dr. Katherine Greiner, an associate professor of theology at Carroll.
(Carroll College reflects on Pope Leo XIV's first 100 days)
Over one hundred Carroll students and members of the community gathered to celebrate and reflect on Pope Leo XIV.
When the white smoke rose in the Vatican, Carroll was going through finals and graduation preparation.
Students like Paxton Sheppard are grateful for the panel discussion after the Pope's first 100 days.
Sheppard says, “It is really going to help us to understand the issues and hopefully think about them even deeper.”
One of the largest talking points of the evening was the fact that Pope Leo XIV is the first to come from the United States.
Bishop Austin Vetter noted, “We do not have an American pope; we have a pope from America. He is a citizen of the whole world."
“It is all a global community, but having a pope from the U.S. is exciting because we have some unique issues.”
Pope Leo’s tether to the United States has been on display following the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
Thursday evening, Bishop Vetter offered some thoughts on the tragedy that has given every parent of school-aged children across the country reason to pause.
“Do not give up, Jesus is in there with you, he is crying with you, and we are going to get through it if we stay together,” Vetter says. We have got to keep praying to double our efforts for our whole society.”
Other discussions included the new papacy and its continuity out of Pope Francis’s 12 years of leadership in the Catholic Church and Leo XIV's call for peace.
“It seems there is a lot of positive news coming out and a lot of work trying to bring peace in a more concrete way,” said Maria Casselli, a Carroll theology student.
That concrete way included the pontiff's call for a day of prayer and fasting last week for peace in both Ukraine and Gaza.
But there is still a lot more to learn as Pope Leo XIV continues in his new role.
“One hundred days is a blink of an eye, but I think he is certainly off to a good start,” noted Greiner.
