Three separate journeys brought members of the DePaul community to the Vatican this fall, and each ended with a chance to meet Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV. Their reasons for traveling differed, but each trip reflected the service, scholarship and faith at the heart of DePaul’s Vincentian mission.
Two DePaul students, Juliana Soto and Jackie Ramirez-Lopez, had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Pope Leo XIV in late October on a pilgrimage to Rome with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership. During their time at the Vatican, the delegation gifted Pope Leo XIV a handmade book containing stories, photographs and prayers from detained immigrants.
“That encounter was a reminder that it’s not just us, the delegates, meeting the pope. Our stories, our experiences and the communities that we bring with us were just as much a part of that moment as we were,” Soto says.
The coalition is a Catholic community focused on social transformation through community organizing. It provides pastoral care and advocates for those detained at the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Soto joined the group to represent DePaul’s Catholic Campus Ministry.
Egan Office’s Urban Schools Initiative recognized
For Monica Haydee Ramos, associate director of the Egan Office for Urban Education and Community Partnerships at the Steans Center, the trip was an opportunity to represent DePaul on an international stage. The Egan Urban Schools Initiative recently received the 2026 Uniservitate Award Special Mention, recognizing outstanding institutional service-learning programs around the world. This honor presented Ramos with a full grant to participate in the VII Uniservitate Symposium in late October.
The award celebrated the Egan Office’s student-led service model, which partners DePaul students with schools and community organizations throughout Chicago while emphasizing service-learning, community engagement and educational access.
“Our students approach their work through an asset-based lens, recognizing and building on the strengths that already exist within classrooms, schools and communities,” Ramos says.
During the global symposium, themed “Designing Maps of Hope Through Service-Learning,” Ramos presented the Urban Schools Initiative and its connection to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.
Representing DePaul alongside educators and community engagement leaders from around the world, Ramos says the symposium reinforced the importance of collaboration across cultures and institutions.
The experience culminated in a visit to Vatican City, where attendees gathered in St. Peter’s Square before meeting Pope Leo XIV.
“Meeting Pope Leo was an unforgettable experience. Exchanging words with him was precious and something that will stay with me forever,” Ramos says.
She recalled the excitement in the square as people waved flags from their home countries while waiting for the pope to arrive in the popemobile. One moment resonated especially deeply.
“I was overjoyed as I heard ‘Cielito Lindo,’ a traditional Mexican song played by an estudiantina – a music group made up of students,” Ramos says. “This representation made me shiver as it lifted the cultural presence of Latinoamérica during a time of sorrow for immigrants like me.”
Ramos says Pope Leo’s message about culture, education and faith echoes DePaul’s Vincentian mission and affirmed the importance of service-learning in higher education.
“I hope students, faculty and staff join us through our programs and initiatives to share their gifts, kindness and unique experiences with youth, families and communities across Chicago,” she says.
A ‘life-altering experience’ meeting the pope
Another member of the DePaul community, Deacon Joseph Ferrari, St. Vincent de Paul Professor of Psychology, also met Pope Leo XIV during an October pilgrimage through Italy with members of St. Bernard’s Church in Homer Glen.
Ferrari and his wife, Sharon, traveled with about 50 parishioners, visiting Rome, Florence, Milan and Genoa while exploring sites connected to the Augustinian order. Their group was granted a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, who has a longstanding friendship with their pastor.
“It was a wonderful, life-altering experience,” Ferrari says.
While abroad, Ferrari also represented DePaul academically, delivering two invited lectures at the University of Genoa: one focused on community psychology and another on chronic procrastination. He also assisted at Mass in Rome, Florence and Milan during the pilgrimage.