Young Catholics gather in Tacoma to watch Pope Francis

It didn’t matter that she was watching a live television broadcast of an event 3,000 miles away. When Pope Francis walked into the halls of Congress on Thursday morning, Diana Jorda of Tacoma couldn’t contain her excitement.

Cheering “Papa”, Jorda held up her cellphone and snapped pictures of the pope on the wide-screen television.

“He looks sharp, man,” she joked.

The 28-year-old’s reaction to seeing the leader of the world’s Catholic Church rivaled that of any celebrity sighting.

Jorda’s enthusiasm for the 78-year-old, Argentinian world leader extends beyond an obligation of her faith.

“Pope Francis has a very compelling message that I think resonates with so many different kinds of people in our culture today,” she said.

Jorda is the founder of Mass Consumption, a faith-based group targeting young adults. She also is the youth minister at St. Anthony’s parish in Renton.

She organized a pope-viewing party Thursday morning at the Sisters of St. Francis convent in Tacoma.

The group of seven millennials were joined by six of the sisters to watch the historic event. One of the sisters walked with a cane, another with a walker, highlighting the age discrepancy in the room.

“He is very relatable to the younger generations,” said Sister Christine Still, Order of St. Francis vocation director at the convent. “He’s just very genuine.”

The fact that Francis is the first pope to have a social media presence also helps, said Still. She follows the pope on his Pontifex Twitter handle.

Andy Jowett of Tacoma said the pope’s desire to connect with people without much pomp and circumstance is another characteristic that makes him personable.

Jowett’s clothing choice for the viewing party — a red T-shirt with a silhouette of Francis’ head — showed his love for the pope.

Jowett, a 23-year-old who recently became a youth minister at St. Theresa’s Church in Federal Way, affectionately referred to the pope as “Papa Frank.”

Jowett said Francis is the first pope he can relate to beyond looking at a photo on the wall. The advancement of technology and online videos have helped youth better connect to the leader of the Catholic church, he said.

“You can see and hear him talk,” Jowett said of YouTube videos.

After the pope’s address Thursday, the group of young Catholics turned off the TV, refilled their coffee cups and spent 30 minutes discussing his message.

They highlighted Francis’ frequent use of the word “dialogue” and his push to bring together people of different ideologies and treat each other with compassion.

“The connection with the Holy Father — or as I like to call him, Holy Francis — is you can really feel his great love for us,” Jorda said. “It’s very inspiring that he’s come to be with us.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Young Catholics gather in Tacoma to watch Pope Francis."