Archbishop Thompson Pays Providence Cristo Rey a Visit

This week, our school was honored to welcome Archbishop Thompson to PCR. The Archbishop made the stop at PCR as he works his way to all of the Catholic high schools in the archdiocese.

During his two hours at PCR, Archbishop Thompson spent time visiting classrooms, and chatting with students around the school. A handful of our students had the privilege of spending some extra time with Archbishop Thompson. Students told Archbishop Thompson what it meant for them to attend a Catholic school and how they are living their faith out in their own lives. Reporter Natalie Hoefer from the Criterion also joined in the visit to take pictures and interview the students about their experience.

"I think it is really important for our students to interact with the leader of our Archdiocese and be able to share their experiences of faith with him," said Campus Minister Facundo Gonzalez Icardi. "Not only this, but they were also able to hear about Archbishop Thompson's own journey of faith. Something that I think resonated with a few of our students was when he shared that he used to study business in college, but he ended up entering the seminary: 'You never know where God is calling you!"

For some of these students, the Archbishop's visit was especially poignant because he was the one to preside over their Confirmations. "I remember when I got Confirmed I sang the psalm and he told me that I did a nice job singing," recalled sophomore Florgisel Garcia. "That was the first time he talked to me - I'm excited to see him again."

Others felt especially touched that the Archbishop went out of his way to spend time with them, despite his busy schedule.

"I tend to think of our school as a smaller school that not many people know about...so the fact that the Archbishop is coming to our little school is exciting," said senior Jackie Hughey. "It just feels like a really big honor that he took the time to acknowledge us and come out here and talk to us for so long."

We are grateful to the Archbishop for spending the morning with us and for bringing his joy, humor, and grounded presence into the halls of PCR!