At Regis High School, and among Jesuits worldwide, there’s a motto that defines the worldview of students.

“We usually abbreviate it to AMDG, or Ad majórem Dei glóriam, excuse my Latin,” Philip Liew, 17, a junior at Regis, said. “And it really means to do everything for the glory of God. And I think I saw Pope Francis, especially now in my years in high school, as a true example of what it meant to do things for the glory of God.”

Pope Francis’ life and values resonated with Catholics and even non-Catholics across the city — but especially with Jesuits, who felt represented by the first Jesuit pope.

“I mean, he was a pope who had the opportunity to become kind of a tucked away, concealed political figure in the Vatican Palace. But he chose to live in a guest house and he chose to get out of the Vatican and visit the Arabian Peninsula and become the first pope in an active war zone and also bringing about a sort of compassion and loving-ness that’s key to Jesuit tradition,” Liew said.

Now, 10 students at Regis High School will join with students from other Jesuit schools across the world to visit Italy — originally a trip meant for the canonization of Carlos Acutis, known as the first millennial saint. Instead, they’ll now culminate their pilgrimage by attending the pope’s funeral.

“I think it’s a very significant event and a spiritual event for many of us. And while I know it wasn’t what we originally planned to do, I’m very grateful for the Jesuits in Milan and in Rome for organizing the opportunity and letting us go and witness the funeral of the pope,” Liew said.

Liew and Clayton Prisament, 17, also a junior, are two of the students who will make the pilgrimage to Italy — an opportunity they don’t take lightly.

“This papal funeral specifically is going to be one of the most important in history because, instead of sort of continuing all of these traditions that have existed for centuries, it’s going to continue the most important ones, but embrace a lot of new features, such as the humility that Pope Francis expressed throughout his papacy to make it a more simple, more public funeral procession,” Prisament said.