Every two years, Professors William North and Victoria Morse run a medieval history off-campus studies program in Rome. This year’s OCS program, however, is unique compared to previous years. Not only are Carleton students visiting Rome during a Jubilee year — a Catholic celebration that happens every 25 years — they were also there when Pope Francis died.
Pope Francis was the Papal authority from 2013 to 2025, where he revolutionized some aspects of the Catholic Church with his liberal policies and, most recently, made a commitment to securing peace in Gaza. His death came on Easter Monday, just one day after his appearance at the Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
Many Carleton students were at the Easter Mass prior to the Pope’s death. “I went to Easter Sunday mass where I saw the Pope and it was after the service where everyone cheered and was very happy to see him and you could hear everyone in the crowd saying ‘Oh is that the Pope?’” said Tim Abott ’26, a student studying on the Rome OCS. “It was a very cool environment to be a part of.”
When the news broke about Pope Francis’ passing, the Rome OCS WhatsApp chat erupted with students reporting to one another.
Bianca Lott ’26 said, “We’d all been so focused on Easter that I guess we kind of forgot about the Pope’s health condition.” She received the news from a fellow Carl in Rome while scrolling on her phone. “Everyone around me was fairly elderly and Italian and there was kind of just this moment where I was sitting looking at my iPhone knowing this information and realizing that everyone around me does not know this information, and was going about their day as normal, and that felt kind of weird.”
Many students also went to the vigil service that was held the night of the Pope’s death. For many, this service was a surreal experience because Saint Peter’s Square became flooded with thousands of people paying their respects to the Pope.
“I went to the rosary the day that we learned Pope Francis had passed, and it was quite a spiritual experience for me like no other,” said Zach Hill ’26.” I went in expecting it to be quite somber, fully dressed in black but it actually turned out to be a cultural experience that I was unfamiliar with.”
To many Catholics, the rosary — a set of Catholic prayer beads — serves as a devotional item for prayer and contemplation. “The rosary was actually quite hopeful, though it also has its themes of reverence,” said Hill. “And I think at the time, right after Pope Francis’ death, that was the perfect way to celebrate his legacy and also to have that sense of respect for the person that he was. And that really moved me and really helped me accept the news that was kind of placed upon us early in the morning.”
After learning of thePope Francis’ passing, the group set off on a trip to important Catholic pilgrimage sites outside of Rome and came back to find the city different from how they had left. Max Votruba ’27 reflected that Rome exploded with visitors.
“During the weekend of his funeral there were a lot of motorcades for heads of state and staff who were visiting,” Votruba said.
Students were especially attuned to the kind of audience that the Pope’s death attracted. Where the papal seat maintains a high reverence across the world, Pope Francis’ progressivism was not always in line with many conservative world leaders. And yet, his funeral was attended by over 200,000 individuals, including heads of state and diplomats.
“I think death is quite a universal thing,” said Zach Hill ’26. “No matter who we are, across the world, we all experience it, so to go through this kind of experience together can help us who are dealing with our own personal issues to see this global thing. It can be a moment of silence, of hope, of love for the future, not just for Pope Francis but as a symbol for everyone else that we’ve lost.”
As students coming from the US — many of whom do not identify with the Catholic faith — the Rome OCS group reflected on the way in which the inadvertent papal focus of the program has shifted their own perspectives of who the Pope is, and what his position means to the nearly 1.4 billion Catholics in the world.
“Before coming to Rome, the Pope was a pretty distant figure I think,” said Classics major Hope Yu ’26. “With regards to his death specifically, the increase in the amount of information that has come out about him has made me way more invested with the papacy.”
Attending Easter Mass, Francis’ funeral service and the evening vigil on the night of his death provided students with the opportunity for contemplation and reflection.
Yu said, “I think we all have different opinions on the Catholic Church and kind of how Christianity has operated over the past hundreds of years, but I think I consider myself lucky to be alive during a time of a Pope who I really commended the actions of.” This sentiment has been similarly reflected by many across the world, and many videos and speeches have recirculated displaying Pope Francis’ kindness towards those the most in need.
The papal conclave began May 7 with a decision made two days later. Robert Francis Prevost — the first American elected to the papal seat — chose the name Leo XIV as he delivered his first blessing on the evening of May 9. Prevost is recognized as operating under a more moderate framework compared to the former Pope’s progressive beliefs. The effect of this shift remains to be seen as students in Rome patiently and thoughtfully await to attend his official installation which comes this Sunday, just 10 days after he first set foot on the balcony revealing the historic decision of the Catholic conclave.
