Holy Cross Students Gather On Campus To Watch Pope Speech
WORCESTER (CBS) -- They were glued to it for 50 minutes, even those with aisle seats, and many College of the Holy Cross students who gathered for the viewing party at the Worcester campus thought Pope Francis homered.
You might expect the pontiff to garner rave reviews on the Jesuit campus, but folks at the college believe his historic pitch to Congress crossed party and religious lines.
"He's the pope so he preaches what we believe as Catholics, but not in a bang-it-over-your-head-type of way," said one student.
Just across town, some slightly older Catholics weren't settling for TV. They were boarding a Philadelphia-bound bus to see the pope in person.
"He seems to have a heart that listens to the people," said one woman. One man says he went to Italy to see him, so why not Philadelphia.
The bus was late, but the enthusiasm stuck.
Back at Holy Cross, the pope's message was sinking in. "There's a very strong invitation there to all of us to work toward the common good," said one student.
The pope encouraged a partnership in solving complicated global crises with some simple principles like love, respect, and community.
"Francis has this remarkable ability to sort of bring these issues down to earth," said a student.
And in doing that, the students believe Francis made the historic minutes in the spotlight really count.
"The way he used it was brillant," said one student.
