Youths from All Saints Parish in Dearborn County pose after taking part in a mock conclave on April 30 on the faith community’s St. Joseph campus. The event was a way for the youths and other parishioners to learn all the details of how a pope is elected. (Submitted photo)

When the newest successor of St. Peter is introduced to the city of Rome and to the world, many Dearborn County Catholics will feel like insiders. In fact, these Catholics had been taken inside the conclave through an innovative approach of Father Jonathan Meyer and Father John Hollowell, the priests who serve the parishes there.

At the St. Joseph campus of All Saints Parish in Dearborn County and at St. Lawrence School in Lawrenceburg, spaces often used for basketball were transformed into replicas of the Sistine Chapel, including an image of Michaelangelo’s “Last Judgment.” Like the cardinal electors at the Vatican, young men took their places and cast their votes for a new bishop of Rome.

The mock conclave at All Saints occurred on April 30, while the one at St. Lawrence School took place on May 1.

To the cheers of all who were present, that “new pope” was presented on a balcony to extend his papal blessing.

St. Lawrence School principal Randy Dennis commented, “It was an incredible and immersive experience for our young people. It was highly informative for the students and adults.

“I was so proud of all the seventh- and eighth-graders’ maturity, taking on the roles of the cardinals, Swiss Guard, papal master of ceremonies, camerlengo, medical staff, tailors, the press and, of course, the pope. The students were educators as much as they were being educated.”

Father Meyer and Father Hollowell, who serve in the four parishes of Dearborn County, organized the mock conclaves that involved more than 40 young people of the parishes.

Father Meyer narrated the conclaves, carefully explaining the rituals that take place upon the death of a pope and the gathering of cardinals from around the world for the election of a new bishop of Rome.

While Father Meyer explained the significance of each step, young men— donning the red cassocks they wear while serving at Mass—demonstrated how the cardinals process into the Sistine Chapel, swear the solemn oath required of the electors and cast their votes until one of their number received the required two-thirds majority. Black and white “smoke” rose to signal the results of the balloting to the assembled spectators.

To Jay Sprague, a member of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Parish in Bright and a teacher at St. Lawrence School, the hour spent learning about the conclave left a lasting impression.

“Everyone said it was phenomenal,” he noted. “Our parents were thrilled to see their children take on these important roles. People who have been Catholic their entire lives learned something new.”

For Caleb Weckenbrock of All Saints Parish and a high school junior who played the role of a cardinal, the experience was profound

“It was beautiful to see how the Church elects the pope,” he said. “I understand it more by living it out. It was powerful to say the actual prayer the cardinals recite while holding the ballot. Even though it was not real, it was a spiritual experience. The Holy Spirit was alive and working through us, as we played our roles.”

The purpose of the mock conclaves was for the participants and those watching to learn more about the faith in an engaging way.

By seeing a replica of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling mural, hearing the bells, keeping track of the tally of votes and seeing the smoke, participants and witnesses got a sense of what cardinal electors experience when undertaking the great task of electing the next pope, and of what it must be like for the prelate who enters the Sistine Chapel as a cardinal and exits as the new pope.

“The election of the pope is huge,” said Father Meyer. “It is important and continues the tradition and timelessness of our Church. I want my people to experience this, not just as head knowledge but to realize it is tangible, real and authentically human.”

Whenever Catholics in Dearborn County hear the name of the new pope, they will be able to remember the time when they were insiders at a mock papal conclave.

(To view a video of the mock conclave on April 30 at All Saints Parish Dearborn County, go to cutt.ly/MockConclave.) †

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