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April 10, 2008

Hendricken senior wins award for Pope's welcome

Bishop Hendricken High School senior Michael Wahl has won a national high school competition for writing words of welcome to Pope Benedict XVI on his first visit to the country next week.

Michael's 500-word essay and one-paragraph personal welcome were selected by an 11-judge panel. The judges initially picked six regional winners before selecting Wahl. More than 2,700 contestants from 116 high schools in 37 states competed.

He also gets $3,000 in cash as national winner. The local winners each receive $1,000.

Bishop Hendricken, in Warwick, is a boys' Catholic high school run by the Christian Brothers.

The national Knights of Columbus and the Diocese of Green Bay sponsored the competition to welcome the pope, whose first visit to the United States and the United nations runs from April 15 to 20.

Peter Thomas, the school's assistant director of advancement, said today that Michael is one of three Hendricken students who have been chosen by the Diocese of Providence to go to the pope's visit later this month at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Michael wrote about tradition and progress, according to a news release, and "impressed the judges with the depth of understanding of the Pope’s writings."

Here are his words of welcome to the pope:

“With hearts full of joy and gratitude to God, we welcome you to the United States of America. Your presence is a source of great hope for a part of the Church that seeks to renew itself in service to God and His people. Having you in our midst is a great privilege that we hope will inspire the Church in America to again return to her roots, embracing tradition and progress in a healthy balance. We pray that your visit will set our hearts ablaze with faith, that we may bear great fruit and grow closer to God. May your time with us bring abundant blessings to your pontificate, our nation and the Church.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 1:30 PM | Permalink

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