The most common questions students asked Bishop Rhoades during his visit to Corpus Christi Catholic School were about his zucchetto and pectoral cross. The first graders, in particular, had thoughts about the latter. “I want to tell you something,” one of the students told Bishop Rhoades. “ I have a necklace that has a cross on it.” “I have a necklace that says, ‘Jesus is the Lord,’” another student chimed in. “I have a cross at home, too,” said another. On Thursday, April 23, Bishop Rhoades celebrated Mass and visited classrooms at Corpus Christi School in South Bend — his first visit there in nine years. His classroom adventures included being rushed by kindergarteners trying to count the buttons on his cassock, observing the pre-K students’ frogs and telling the fifth graders all about emergency baptisms. Photos by Derby Photography In his homily during the all-school Mass, Bishop Rhoades spoke on the first reading, in which the apostle Philip tells a traveling Ethiopian man about Christianity and baptizes him in what Bishop Rhoades called “probably the shortest OCIA ever.” As Bishop Rhoades pointed out, the fruits of that one encounter are still seen today, as Ethiopia continues to have a very high number of Christians. Bishop Rhoades encouraged the students to think about how they might spread the Faith like Philip and the other apostles did. One option is to share the Faith with people you know, he said. “But you know we also share our faith by the way we live,” Bishop Rhoades said. “When we’re kind to others, when we’re generous with the poor and the needy, when we show love to other people — we’re spreading the Gospel. So, we can spread the Gospel with our words but also with our actions.” Bishop Rhoades also emphasized the gift of being able to live faith together at a Catholic school, and he commended the students for their active participation in Mass. “It’s really important that when we pray, we do so with our minds and our hearts, and also with our voices,” Bishop Rhoades said. Johnnathan Combs, principal at Corpus Christi, said school leaders didn’t want to “put on a display” during Bishop Rhoades’ visit but instead aimed to show him who they really are. “[Bishop Rhoades’] presence at our campus was a great blessing to all of us,” Combs told Today’s Catholic. “The children got to sit with him, ask him questions, connect with him as a person as opposed to just the picture in the hallway.” Students at Corpus Christi School in South Bend raise their hands to ask Bishop Rhoades questions during his pastoral visit to the school on Thursday, April 23. Combs began as principal at Corpus Christi Catholic School three days before classes started last fall. In reflecting on his first year as principal, he said he has discovered that despite the school’s smaller size, “we’re mighty in faith and mighty in providing what the children need.” He called the school a “great hidden treasure in South Bend.” Most of all, Combs emphasized that the main goal of the school is to promote a relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. “It is a faith-filled school,” Combs said. “The teachers love and appreciate and guide the students, not only academically but in faith.” Father Daryl Rybicki has been the pastor at Corpus Christi Parish for nearly 17 years. He noted that the parish and school’s location, tucked away behind a residential area, is both a blessing and a challenge. He called it a “delightful environment” with several acres of green space, but he also noted that it isn’t located where anyone would happen to drive by or discover it by chance. “Unless you are really intending to come here, you won’t accidentally come here,” Father Rybicki said. Father Rybicki described the parish as “active and involved” in many ministries, including the Christ Child Society and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which he said the students are also involved in. “The generous spirit carries over into the school activities as well,” Father Rybicki said of the parish. Principal Johnnathan Combs looks on as Bishop Rhoades dons a Corpus Christi Cougars hat during his pastoral visit. During an all-school assembly during his visit, Bishop Rhoades received a few gifts from the school community. One was a baseball cap with the school’s mascot, a cougar, on it. The crowded gym broke into spirited applause when Bishop Rhoades put the hat on and said, “Go Cougars!” Another gift was a box full of a classic food from Bishop Rhoades’ native Pennsylvania: Tastykakes. “This is what we ate almost every day for dessert,” Bishop Rhoades exclaimed when he opened the assortment, which included butterscotch (the bishop’s childhood favorite) and lemon blueberry (a flavor he didn’t remember). As Father Rybicki remembered, the idea came from the former principal of Corpus Christi School, a fellow Pennsylvanian who gifted the bishop the nostalgic treats last time he visited. The third gift was a spiritual bouquet of sacrifices, prayers and acts of kindness that members of the school community offered for Bishop Rhoades and his intentions. “Please know that you are remembered in our prayers in a special way,” said the eighth grade students presenting the gift to the bishop, who responded, “Prayer is the greatest gift! That’s what I need the most.” The post Bishop Makes Pastoral Visit to Corpus Christi Catholic School appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less