Hudson Valley Student to Meet Pope Francis This Week

Meeting the pope is kind of a big deal, but that's exactly what one high school senior from the Hudson Valley will be doing this Friday.

As Pope Francis visits America this week, he'll be making a much-publicized stop in New York City. While in our area, the pope will be meeting with many different groups of people, including a collection of local Catholic school students.

According to Time Warner Cable News, one of the students that will have an opportunity to greet the pope is Our Lady of Lourdes senior, Julie Costigan. Because of security reasons, Costigan was unable to share her news until this week, even though she found out about the once-in-a-lifetime meeting in August. Costigan was hand selected by Our Lady of Lordes to represent the school after the Catholic high school was selected by organizers for the pope's visit.

The pope is scheduled to meet with student representatives from 12 local Catholic schools at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem at around 4pm on Friday. Immediately after that, the pope will be taking a tour of the city, including a much-publicized drive through Central Park.

Pope Francis' visit to the Spanish Harlem church will also be the site of a different sort of meeting. The New York Times reports that the pope will also meet with Hudson Valley migrant workers and farmers as part of a group fighting for better pay. The pope personally requested a meeting with the poor and the marginalized members of the area. The meeting will also include carwashers and families who have fled to our country from Central America.

We want to know what you would say to Pope Francis if you had a chance to meet him face to face. Give us your feedback in the comments section below.