This morning I had the joy of meeting and teaching the new Kinders for 2021. They are a happy, inquisitive bunch. They want to know everything from “Why are you wearing a whistle?” to “What are they for?’ (Maths manipulatives) to “When is it recess?’ It brought to mind a book of letters written to the Pope, where the children didn’t hold back on asking the hard questions. 

This is a great collection of letters written by children, who want the Pope’s answers to questions we would probably be afraid to ask. 

Ten-year-old Joao from Portugal asks the Pope what it feels like when he is surrounded by children, and in response, Pope Francis writes of his happiness and the hope he feels for the future of all humanity. Revealing his own humanity, Pope Francis also writes about Joao’s drawing in which the Pope appears to be driving his “Pope-mobile” and acknowledges that he doesn’t drive which leaves his hands free for waving and blowing kisses.

Eight-year-old Josephine from the United Kingdom discovers that Pope Francis’s favourite place to pray is “everywhere…even when (he goes) to the dentist.” Karla Marie, a 10-year-old girl from Nicaragua, asks if “bad people have a guardian angel, too” and learns that everyone has an angel who tries to help them think good thoughts, but … “of course, some people don’t always listen to their guardian angels.”

Perhaps my favourite letter of all comes from seven-year-old William from the USA – he asked Pope Francis what miracle the Pope would most want to perform, given the chance. The Pope wrote to William that he would want to heal children, revealing in his letter his struggle to understand why children suffer. This letter, like so many in Dear Pope Francis, reveals the humanity of this church and world leader in a manner accessible to children of all ages. 

Book review and images retrieved and adapted from https://www.goodreadswithronna.com/2016/03/01/dear-pope-francis/ 

This book is a very worthwhile read for ‘children’ of all ages. It is available from a variety of sources in Australia. 

Peace and blessings,