BALTIMORE, Md. — With hundreds of her Mercy sisters filled with anticipation, 14-year-old Mia Smothers took the mic at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis.
“Good morning, Heavenly Father.My name is Mia Smothers from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland,” said the teen as she addressed the pontiff.
With 16,000 young Catholics surrounding her and as many as a million others watching the live video link with Vatican City, Mia shed any uneasiness she may have felt to ask Pope Leo XIV a question, which has been on the minds of the faithful for centuries.
14-year-old from Joppatowne queries the pope
“In my experience, it’s been difficult to voice my mistakes,” said Mia, “Is it hard for you to accept God’s mercy when you’ve made mistakes or feel that you’ve let people down?”
The first American pope responded to the first direct question of its kind through the live broadcast with a message of forgiveness.
“All of us struggle with this at times,” the pope told her, “The truth is that none of us is perfect.St. Paul teaches that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
The pope’s message certainly resonated with Mia’s mother and father, as well as her nine brothers and sisters with one more on the way.
Three generations of the devout family serving as witnesses to the Word with Mia’s classmates back in Baltimore.
“Our daughter tends to be very laid back and doesn’t like to put herself in the forefront,” said Chuck Smothers, Mia’s father, “but I told her that God chooses us sometimes to do those things that might make us uncomfortable, because He wants us to spread his gospel throughout the world.”
A message of hope during the church’s Jubilee “Year of Hope”.
“Pope Leo shared that very well to say, ‘Don’t be afraid.He’s a just father.He’s a merciful father,’” said Nomalizo Smothers, Mia’s mother.
Inspired by the quizzical mind of a 14-year-old.
