Students At East Harlem Catholic School Getting Pumped To Meet Pope Francis
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One of several stops Pope Francis will be making in New York City this September is at a Catholic school in East Harlem, and as the new school year looms, students are getting excited.
When the pope visits Our Lady Queen of Angels school next month, he'll first be greeted by hundreds of school kids on the street.
Pope Francis will then head inside to meet with 24 students from four inner-city schools, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
Allison, a third-grader from Queen of Angels, is among those selected.
"I'm really excited because this is a great opportunity for kids to do this because not a lot of people get to do this," she said.
If given the opportunity, Allison said she'd like to ask the pope "How did he survive with only one lung?"
Nicholas Marinaro is heading into the fourth grade, and he's got a lot to tell the pope, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported.
"I'm gonna tell him that we're helping out the environment by recycling and not littering and using less paper because you waste trees," he said.
So what would he like to ask the pope?
"How does it feel to be the first non-European pope in 1,200 years? That's quite an accomplishment," the young student said.
The lucky students were selected by a lottery system, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.
"I felt very excited too because he's the head of all Catholic churches," said Essa Nahshal, a student at St. Charles Borromeo School.
Pope Francis will be in New York from Sept. 24 through Sept. 26. He will address the U.N. General Assembly, attend a service at the Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, visit Our Lady Queen of Angels school and hold Mass at Madison Square Garden.