Enter All Saints Catholic School and a framed photo of Pope Benedict XVI greets you from inside a display case outside the main office.

Around the corner, colorful, handmade cards welcoming the pope to the United States line the hallway walls.

Pope watch is in full effect.

Youngsters at this small, predominantly black school in North Side Richmond have been learning about the 265th pope and his upcoming trip to America.

"Part of the pope's mission is to visit with President Bush and have meetings with children with disabilities," said Chloe Cash, an eighth-grader. "And he's visiting Yankee Stadium to say Mass."

Chloe is among 84 students in grades 4-8 who learned at least a fact about the pope, said Angela Cash, the school's religion coordinator who taught them.

"They had to stand and tell their one fact and apparently it stuck," Cash said. "That was really when they started teaching each other."

Many educators at the 29 Catholic schools serving about 10,000 students in the Diocese of Richmond are connecting classroom discussion with the six-day papal trip scheduled for next month.

"Schools are allowed to prepare students for the visit in any way appropriate," said Annette Parsons, chief school administrator for the diocese.

Eighth-graders peppered religion teacher Jim Eliasek for 35 minutes with questions equally profound and humorous one recent morning at St. Benedict's Catholic School in the Fan District.

Why does the pope ride in a limo when he's taken a vow of poverty?

Can he wear jeans?

How will he be received by non-Catholics?

The pope's visit will capture the attention of many people for different reasons, whether they are protesters or followers, Eliasek said.

"There are lots of different reasons for people to be drawn to the pope. He's a teacher first, and anyone who goes will hear a message about Jesus."

The pope can and does wear casual clothes, including jeans. "But out in public, he will dress as the pope," Eliasek said.

As to riding in a limo, that's partly for security. "He's not demanding that or green M&Ms in my dressing room," Eliasek said as a few students chuckled.

Has a pope ever been hurt, someone asked.

Eliasek explained that Pope John Paul II was shot twice during an assassination attempt in 1981. He later visited the imprisoned shooter. He "prayed with him and forgave him," Eliasek said as the class listened attentively.

"You will not get a better model of reconciliation and forgiveness."

"Is he trying to [undo] Vatican II?" asked Kaitlin Kavanagh, referring to the council that liberalized the church.

"He's far more conservative than many of the other popes we've had," Eliasek said. "But he's said unequivocally, no. He was instrumental in Vatican II. While the church moves slowly, the church is not one to move backward."

While the religion class posed plenty of good questions, several fifth-graders at All Saints were full of facts.

"He was born Joseph Ratzinger and he rides in the popemobile," said Darrian Thomas, 10.

Maya Bennett, 10, said Benedict's favorite composer is Mozart and he prefers orange soda.

Crystal Ellison, 11, said the pope enjoys writing and playing the piano. And "The pope will meet with the bishops of the U.S. to make Catholic churches more unified than they are."

Loréal Williams shared that the pope "became a priest with his brother, George" on June 29, 1951.

Next week, the students will illustrate the facts they have memorized and make collages, bulletin boards and banners. Every student also will sign a birthday card for Benedict, who turns 81 on April 16, the second day of his trip.

On April 15, Diocesan Bishop Emeritus Walter F. Sullivan will visit All Saints to "pray with us and tell us why the pope is coming to America," Cash said. "We hope to persuade him to take our birthday card" to the pope.
Contact Robin Farmer at (804) 649-6312 or rfarmer@timesdispatch.com.

The National Catholic Educational Association in Washington has issued an invitation to students in Catholic schools, parish religious education programs, colleges and seminaries nationwide to perform community service in honor of Pope Benedict XVI's 81st birthday. So far, 522,500 hours of service have been pledged. To register, go to http://ncea.catholic.org/form.php.