Wow Pope Leo XIV has a School Reunion at the Vatican with Former Illinois Classmates from 1969

Illinois Schoolmates Reunite with the Pope in St. Peter's Square

Among the crowds at the general audience were ten former students of Saint Mary’s School in Riverdale, Illinois—childhood classmates of Robert Francis Prevost. 

"We are at the general audience to express our closeness to him and to reunite with our former classmate, who today is the 266th Successor of Peter." This sentiment was shared in unison by ten of the 82 students who graduated elementary school with Robert Francis Prevost in 1969.

Jerome Clemens, who traveled from the United States for the occasion, proudly displayed a poster of their graduating class. Under a warm, spring sun in St. Peter’s Square, he pointed out his nine companions before gesturing to a young Prevost, not yet fourteen. "Here is 'our' friend the Pope," he added, showing the back of the photo where the Pontiff had added the signature "Leo XIV" next to his childhood handwriting.

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A School That Felt Like Family

The bond between the group remains strong, rooted in the close-knit community of their youth. John Riggio recalled the unique atmosphere of their alma mater: "It was more than a school, it was a family," he noted.

This sense of community was literal for the Pontiff; his mother, Mildred Agnes Prevost, was a fixture at the institute. She worked as a "librarian and was also deeply involved in school and parish life," remembered a visibly moved Sherry Blue.

As the audience concluded, the group embraced the Pope for a souvenir photo—a memento that, as they noted, "will most likely also be framed at Saint Mary's."