Jesuit High School students travel to see Pope Francis

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Six students from Jesuit High School are headed to Philadelphia to take part in a mass given by Pope Francis.

"He is going to talk to us about immigration and religious freedom," said Michael Miller, the assistant director of the school's ministry.

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope.

"I have to prepare myself to take it all in," said student Michael Lee.

The students at the school were wild with excitement when Pope Francis was elected.

"As I am growing up, I am seeing that this pope is really relating to the younger generation of catholics too," said student J.J. Niekro. "I can see how he is relating all of his teaching to the environment, technology, and to the changing world around us, and how that can help us become deeper in our faith," he added.

The six students, who were chosen by the high school's president, for their dedication to their spiritual lives, will be joining hundreds of thousands for the weekend of prayer.

They will watch the Pope give mass.

"It'll be joyful," said Fr. Richard Hermes, the school's president. "They will feel the energy of the crowd, but they will also get the sense of, you can gather a million people, or half-a-million people, and have silence and prayer."

The students will also attend conferences with students from other Jesuit schools from across the country.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, to see a Pope who appeals to the young.

"I have never been gathered around that many Catholics at one time," said Niekro. "It is going to be a really cool experience to see everyone come together for Pope Francis and for our Faith."