Pope's visit becoming silly

Not quite 'Vatican Idol’ - skateboard art and design contests stoke excitement for papal visit

The Archdiocese of New York oversaw a papal skateboard art design contest that brought in 70 submissions. The art had to include the papal visit logo, the motto “Christ our hope” and only the colors papal gold, black, white and red.

(To vote on the three final skateboard design winners, go to www.archny.org/papalvisit/papal-skateboard-art-design-contest / .)

The contest was the brainchild of the Rev. Peter Pomposello, a priest at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Washington Heights in Manhattan. Every Saturday, he runs a skateboarding club in the neighborhood. One day he was speaking to some of the young club members about the pope’s upcoming visit and one of the kids suggested they give the pope a skateboard.

“Skateboarding usually isn’t associated with God or religion, but there is a bit of analogy with skateboarding and the practice of the faith,” Pomposello says.

“Skateboarding takes discipline. It takes practice. You’re going to fall down a lot. But with God’s grace, you get back up again and you start again with his grace and his love.”