Bishop Thomas John Paprocki | Diocese of Springfield

Father Rob Johnson, chaplain of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Newman Community and pastor of Mother of Perpetual Help in Maryville, visited the Vatican on October 21, 2025. He was there for a public papal audience scheduled for the following day and had requested to meet Pope Leo XIV through private channels but did not receive an official response.

Upon collecting his audience tickets, Father Johnson discovered an unexpected item. “I opened it, and this is not a joke, there was a golden ticket in it,” Father Johnson said.

This ticket allowed him to meet Pope Leo XIV and present a plaque intended as the cornerstone for a possible future Newman Center at SIUE. The plaque was engraved: “Do not be afraid! Catholic Student Center at SIUE. Blessed by His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV. October 22, 2025. St. Peter’s Square, Rome. Feast of St. John Paul II.”

“Maybe the funniest part of the encounter was after I shook his hand and told him, ‘Thank you,’ I went to walk off the stage without him blessing the plaque, and Pope Leo stopped me, actually. He said, ‘Hey. Let’s bless your cornerstone here.’ Then he blessed the cornerstone and touched it, and then I went off.”

The idea for this meeting began earlier in the summer when Father Johnson planned a pilgrimage with friends during the Jubilee year that coincided with St. John Paul II’s feast day.

“We’ve had all this growth happening with the Newman Community at SIUE and have a dream to have a building — a student center — in some capacity,” he said. Currently, students attend Mass at Mother of Perpetual Help while discussions continue about where such a center could be located.

During their meeting in St. Peter’s Square, Father Johnson introduced himself as being from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois: “I walked up and got to kiss the fisherman’s ring on the pope, which was very cool. I said, ‘Good morning, Holy Father.’ And he said, ‘Good morning.’ I told him that I was from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and my name. He visibly perked up at ‘Illinois.’ He said, ‘Oh, Illinois,’ and he smiled.”’

He briefly described to Pope Leo XIV how hundreds of students are now involved in Bible studies at SIUE: “I told him that I am the chaplain for the Newman Community at SIUE, and at this point we have hundreds of students in Bible studies and all these good things happening…we really want to get a student center built and was just asking for his prayers and his blessing today.”

Reflecting on their exchange afterward: “It’s been very cool to reflect on just the weight of responsibility on his shoulders…for one minute he was engaged and sincerely praying for this very part of the kingdom that I get to be a part of."

“It felt very much like meeting a spiritual father,” he added.

The growth within SIUE's Catholic community has led to space constraints as participation increases each semester: “We started fall 2024 with under 100 students in Bible study; we ended last year (spring 2025) with just over 200...Right now…we’re on pace to double again…it’s a fun thing because we’re outgrowing spaces.”

Father Johnson expressed hope that establishing an actual student center would help make visible what is already taking place among students spiritually: “God gives us resources we need to be saints…To someday have an actual student center in some capacity would just be to make visible this reality of what’s going on in hearts of students.”