“Do you like garlic bread?” was one of the things the inquiring minds in teacher Ann Medeiros’ third grade catechism class at St. John Vianney Church, Kailua, wanted to know about their new Pope Francis.
It was Medeiros’ idea that each of her students write a letter. Some had questions: “What do you like to eat?” and “Were you in Boy Scouts?” Others wrote about their families: “I have two sisters and no brothers,” and “I have one dog.”
It was the student Mikey who was curious about the pope’s taste for garlic bread, a reliable question considering the Holy Father is ethnically Italian and lives in Rome.
According to the parish religious education coordinator Esther Tokars, writing to the pope were eight students, a teacher’s aide, Medeiros and herself.
They cannot be certain that Pope Francis, who is known to peruse his written correspondence, saw the letter, but they would like to think he did because they received a personal response from one of his right-hand men, American Msgr. Peter B. Wells of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
“His Holiness Pope Francis is pleased to have received your kind messages,” Msgr. Wells wrote. “He thanks all of you for writing to him and he is grateful for your prayers.”
“The Holy Father will pray for you and your teachers, and he sends his blessing,” the letter concluded.
Msgr. Wells’ letter also included a picture card of Pope Francis with his coat of arms and signature printed on the back.
