Cardinal Wilton Gregory’s Oct. 15 visit to St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy in Washington, D.C., was really three visits in one.

First, Washington’s archbishop joined third through fifth graders for the school’s annual Cancer Awareness Prayer Service in the multi-purpose room, held in honor of a beloved second grade teacher who died of breast cancer about a decade ago.

Then outside on the school’s front steps, he was joined by pre-kindergarten through second graders as he blessed seven new magnolia trees planted in front of the school, and also blessed the children seated there who sprang up at the end to sing a song of praise to God.

Lastly, the cardinal returned to the multi-purpose room for a freewheeling question and answer session with sixth, seventh and eighth graders, who asked him a variety of questions, including what his daily life was like, and also, did he ever fall asleep in church?

Before the cardinal arrived, Harold Thomas, St. Francis Xavier’s principal, said, “I want our kids to see a piece of history and be inspired by a man of his character and his position.”

One year earlier, Pope Francis had named then-Archbishop Gregory as one of 13 new cardinals from around the world, and later that fall during a ceremony in Rome, he became the first African American cardinal.

“He’s a person they’ve learned a lot about. He’s a role model who looks like them,” said the principal, whose school serves about 200 students and is one of four elementary schools in the Consortium of Catholic Academies of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

One day earlier, St. Francis Xavier students raised more than $400 in a “Wear Pink” fundraiser for breast cancer research, in memory of the late Barbara Lindsay, a longtime teacher there.

Thomas said the annual prayer service and fundraiser were ways to honor the memory of that second grade teacher, whose classroom was next to the school’s front desk. He said she died about 12 years ago during the school year after a long battle with cancer.

The principal said Lindsay was “a great person and a great teacher” and “clearly one of the best teachers I’ve seen.”

A framed portrait of her was placed on a table alongside a vase of pink and white flowers in front of the lectern where students read prayers during the service.

“She continued to have recess and jump rope with the kids during her treatment. She battled it for several years,” said Thomas, who at the end of the prayer service said, “She lived a Christian life, and she taught until she could not teach anymore.”

At St. Francis Xavier’s Prayer Service for Cancer Awareness that morning, third grader Delante Robinson, the prayer leader, welcomed Cardinal Gregory and said, “Today we come together as a school community to pray for those suffering from cancer. We know that when we are going through difficult times, we can turn to God for strength. Let us pray for those who may be facing challenges from cancer, that they may look to God for strength to endure. We pray for those who have lost loved ones to cancer.”

After a Gospel reading from Luke about Jesus healing a blind man, read by Father Tony D’Souza, the administrator of St. Francis Xavier Parish, Cardinal Gregory offered a reflection. He noted that he could hear the sound of children playing games outside, and he said that reminded him that “God is on our team… God is on our side,” and as St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans that was also read at the prayer service, nothing can separate people from God’s love.

The cardinal noted that when people are sick, it’s sometimes “hard to remember God is there,” but he said that is important for people suffering from cancer, and for their loved ones caring for them, to know, “God is still with them in the struggles of life.”

At the prayer service, St. Francis Xavier fourth graders offered prayers, including for people suffering from cancer, their family members, for people who have died from cancer, and for medical researchers and for those raising funds to find cures for cancer.

Fourth grader Breona Larkins prayed, “Let us always remember Ms. Lindsay, who despite suffering with cancer, answered ‘yes’ to the call of the Lord and dedicated her life to educating her second graders here at St. Francis Xavier.”

Students wore face masks as part of COVID-19 safety precautions, and during the prayer service, they were invited to offer each other a “socially distanced” sign of peace. Near the end of the service, the cardinal was presented with a  St. Francis Xavier Treasure Box put together by students that included a mosaic cross, a ribbon for breast cancer research and a thank you note.

Then Cardinal Gregory stepped outside to the school’s front steps, where he was joined by the St. Francis Xavier pre-kindergarteners, kindergarten students, first graders and second graders for a service where the cardinal blessed seven new magnolia trees planted in large pots in front of the school building on O Street, S.E.

Thomas in an earlier interview noted that the tree planting project originated in an effort among school parents, teachers and consortium leadership, who during distance learning this past year discussed ways to beautify the grounds of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy. The school held a ribbon cutting for the trees the week before the cardinal’s visit, and students were learning about different kinds of trees and how to care for them.

“It brings pride in our community. It helps the environment, and it gives them something to learn (about),” he said.

Cardinal Gregory smiled and told the younger students seated on the steps that he was happy to pray with them “and ask the blessings of God on these wonderful magnolia trees.” He noted that before coming to Washington, he earlier served as the archbishop of Atlanta, in a part of the country where magnolia trees are plentiful.

“My prayer is that these magnolia trees will grow and flower in wonderful ways like you… and that you will continue to grow and flower and make God’s Earth more beautiful,” he told the students.

Before he sprinkled holy water on the students and toward the magnolia trees now lining the front of the school, the cardinal prayed to God, “Everything growing from the Earth is your gift – the fruit trees, the plants, the vegetables, and especially the people… May these trees grow into wonderful signs of your presence.”

James Wills, a Spanish and religion teacher at St. Francis Xavier, told the cardinal that the young children had a special gift to present to him, and they sprang up and waved their arms as they sang, “Rise and shine and give God the glory.”

After they finished, Cardinal Gregory smiled and said, “You know, the cardinal used to sing that song, too.”

During the question-and-answer session with St. Francis Xavier’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders that concluded his visit, the cardinal told them that he had once attended a Catholic school, just like them.

“When I entered, I was not Catholic. I became Catholic because the sisters, priests and lay people were good people and inspired me,” he said of his experience at St. Carthage School in Chicago, where he became Catholic as a sixth grader and was inspired to become a priest.

Asked if he was excited when he learned the pope had named him as a cardinal, he said, “I was very excited,” and explained that the pope’s announcement was a surprise to him, and he learned about the announcement when a friend in Rome called him that morning.

In response to questions about what his days are like and what are his duties as a cardinal, Cardinal Gregory said, “I don’t have two days exactly alike… Every day is different for me.”

Those days, he said, can include parish Masses, school visits, Zoom meetings, conference calls, appointments with people, working on reports and preparing documents.

“The thing I like most is being with you, our people, in prayer on Sunday or at events like today,” he said, later adding, “I like people!”

Another student asked him if he gets tired, and the cardinal said he does sometimes, especially as he has gotten older, but he said his ministry “brings great joy to my heart. I like doing what I’m doing.”

Responding to a question about what he likes to do in his free time, Cardinal Gregory said he tries to play golf, but he confessed that he is not very good at it. The cardinal said he likes listening to music, including classical, jazz and soft rock, and he and his priest secretary, Father Charles Cortinovis, cook together.

On a lighter note, a student asked the cardinal if he had ever fallen asleep in church, and he answered that “I have never fallen asleep while celebrating Mass… I’m up in front, leading the prayers.” But he jokingly asked the youth and adults present if they had, and some of them raised their hands.

Before Cardinal Gregory arrived at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy, Sister Patricia Ralph, a Sister of St. Joseph who teaches the fourth and fifth grade there, said she hopes her students learn “that they can accomplish anything they want if they put their heart and mind to it.” And at the Catholic school, she hopes they come to know “that we all need Jesus. Love Jesus. He will guide you and be your strength, and help you not to lose focus.”

And she added that in her classroom, “I show them a picture of the cardinal when he was 12 years old. I say, ‘See, this could be you some day.’”