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"Ann, what are you doing with that big piece of white posterboard?" I asked. "You're in the theology department, not the fine arts department."

"I'm trying to make a miter. My class is going to elect the next pope. Now I just have to figure out how to make black and white smoke without violating any fire codes."

Such was a typical day for Catholic Central High School's campus minister and middle school theology teacher, Ann Pawlik. Around the time of the election of Pope Francis in 2013, Mrs. Pawlik did not just lecture to her students at CCHS in Troy about the College of Cardinals, the conclave in the Sistine Chapel or the rules of the election process; she created the College of Cardinals in her classroom.

Seventh- and eighth-graders formed the conclave. After a few votes and a few plumes of fake black smoke, a 14-year-old "pope" was chosen. I am still not sure how the fake white smoke was pulled off!

Thus, when Cardinal Jorje Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th pope, the students could truly appreciate what had just occurred and could affectionately acknowledge the new vicar of Christ as our Pope Francis, a.k.a. "Fran the Man."

(Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, should feel no dearth of affection: When Mrs. Pawlik brought a group of excited students to see him during his visit to the United States in 2008, they sang "Bennie and the Jets" all the way to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. He was "Bennie;" they were the Jets.)

As a member of CCHS' theology department myself, I am constantly inspired by the way Mrs. Pawlik is able to make the faith come alive for young people. She skillfully blends the pastoral and pedagogical approaches to religious instruction: In her classroom, students feel ministered to while they are learning and come to understand the doctrines of our tradition while they are being lived out.

This is true catechesis! Mrs. Pawlik implements the words of Jesus from Matthew's Gospel: "Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the housekeeper who brings out of the storeroom new treasures as well as old" (13:52).

She supports a catechesis that is rooted in Scripture and tradition, yet enlivened by the best of modern culture. She is not above using a popular sitcom, a box-office smash, a top-40 hit or even a 1970s Elton John song to get her point across.

Not surprisingly, it works! The students are excited to learn about their faith and often stay in touch with this beloved educator long after graduation.

I have often wondered how a woman who has been at this for almost 40 years finds the energy to teach passionately -- almost a full-time schedule -- and then bring students to serve at soup kitchens, advocate at public policy days, dance with residents at assisted living centers, and prepare and serve meals at Ronald McDonald House. This is in addition to planning and conducting retreats for grades seven through 12, arranging prayer partnerships between students and the Sisters of St. Joseph, organizing vocation fairs and collecting clothing for the needy.

I never fully appreciated the work Mrs. Pawlik does until the time that I and another teacher had to plan a liturgy in her absence. At what is usually an apparently effortless and flawless event, essential items were almost forgotten; students didn't seem quite sure what to do.

I thought of the words of St. Paul: "I have become all things to all people so that I might save them" (I Cor 9:22). Some of us are more efficient at this than others! From "electing popes" to planning liturgies, Ann Pawlik truly reflects this Pauline concept of catechesis.

(Ms. Koster teaches theology at Catholic Central High School in Troy.)[[In-content Ad]]

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