Mallow woman Rose Doyle has just returned from Rome where she had the privilege of becoming the first Corkonian to participate in a private audience for teachers from across Ireland and Britain with the newly elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.
Speaking to The Echo, Rose, who has just completed a Masters degree in Limerick’s Mary Immaculate College of Education, said her week long trip to Rome was the first pilgrimage she had undertaken.
The private audience with Pope Leo took place in Clementine Hall in the Vatican. “It was our group and another group of students from Denmark, I think.
“He spoke to us for about ten minutes and it was a very surreal experience and, of course, I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to meet him,” said Rose.
“One of the things he said, thinking back out it afterwards because it was so overwhelming at the time, was about the significant influence that teachers have on their pupils and the importance of being good role models.
“It was absolutely amazing, an experience I will not forget.”
Rose said that each of the participants had an opportunity to meet with Pope Leo individually following the address.
“He was really friendly, he gave each and every person time, if we wanted to talk to him or have anything blessed or so on,” she said.
The week long pilgrimage of teachers was to mark the Jubilee Year of Hope which is taking place this year in Rome. As part of the pilgrimage, the Irish element of which was being led by Bishop Paul Connell of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, the teachers visited the four Holy Doors in Rome, which are only opened once every 25 years, as well as many other sites in the city. They also visited Castell Gandalfo, the Summer residence of the Holy Father.
In a statement issued following the visit, Pope Leo said that children would look up to the teachers as “models of faith, particularly in you teach and live”.
“I hope that, each day, you will nurture your relationship with Christ, who gives us the pattern of all authentic, so that, in turn, you may guide and encourage those entrusted to your care to follow Christ in their own lives.”
He also warned against paying too much attention to digital input and urged the teachers to listen to their own hearts. “It’s in our hearts that God speaks to us, that God calls us to know him better and to live in his love.”