What is a Pope? In this episode of Faithfully Explore, we travel in our imaginations to Vatican City to learn about the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church.

Kids will discover that Catholicism is part of Christianity, that the Catholic Church is a worldwide community, and that the Pope helps guide Catholics with messages of faith, kindness, service, and care for others. We also explore Vatican City—the tiny country inside Rome where the Pope lives and works—and learn a few fun facts about St. Peter’s Basilica, the Popemobile, and Pope Leo XIV.

This episode is designed as a gentle, kid-friendly introduction to Catholic leadership. It does not expect children to know anything about Catholicism before listening. Instead, it uses simple comparisons, movement, trivia, storytelling, and interfaith connections to help kids understand what the Pope does and why many people around the world look to him as a spiritual guide.

Along the way, listeners will:

• Learn what the word “Pope” means
• Discover where the Pope lives
• Explore why Vatican City is such a special place
• Try a silly Popemobile movement break
• Play a Pope and Vatican City trivia game
• Meet other kinds of religious leaders through the Friendship Bridge
• Hear a heartwarming story about Pope Francis welcoming a child
• Pack “Kind Leadership” into their Belief Backpacks

The heart of this episode is the idea that true leadership is not about being the loudest, most powerful, or most important person in the room. True leadership means helping others, welcoming people in, listening with care, and using your voice to make the world a little kinder.

Discussion Questions for Families

What surprised you most about the Pope?

Why do you think people look to spiritual leaders for guidance?

What makes someone a kind leader?

Can you be a leader even if you are not “in charge”?

How can you help someone feel included this week?

Try This After Listening

Invite your child to draw a “kind leader.” It could be the Pope, a teacher, a coach, a grandparent, a community helper, or even themselves. Around the picture, write or draw ways that person helps others.

You can also find Vatican City on a map and talk about how a tiny place can still have a big impact around the world.

Belief Backpack Takeaway

Today we packed the tool of Kind Leadership.

You do not need a white robe, a giant church, or a Popemobile to be a leader. You can lead with kindness by helping others, including people who feel left out, listening before speaking, and choosing love over bossiness.

Hey there, explorers.

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Gather around, find a cozy spot, and

clap twice if you can hear my voice.

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Awesome.

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I am so glad you are here.

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What do you think we are exploring today?

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Well, today we are traveling across the

ocean in our minds to learn about a very

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special leader who wears a lot of white,

drives a pretty unique car, and guides

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millions of people all over the world.

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Today, we are discovering: what is a pope?

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Faithfully Explore! Intro:

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Faithfully Explore!

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is the name.

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Learning together is our aim.

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Beliefs around the globe we'll track,

filling up our Belief Backpack.

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Laura: To understand what a pope is, we

first have to talk about a big global

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family called the Catholic Church.

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Catholicism is a part of Christianity.

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Christians are people who

follow the teachings of Jesus.

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The Catholic Church is like

a massive family tree with

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over a billion people in it.

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Just like a school has a principal or

a sports team has a head coach to keep

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everyone moving in the same direction,

the Catholic family has a chief leader.

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That leader is called the Pope.

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The word Pope actually comes from an

old word that means father or papa.

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He is chosen to be a helper,

a teacher, and a spiritual

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guide for Catholics everywhere.

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Think of the Pope like a chief helper

or a spiritual grandfather who helps

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Catholics all over the Earth understand

how to love God and love their neighbors.

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Now, where do you think

a leader like that lives?

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A regular house?

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A skyscraper?

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The Pope doesn't just live

in a regular neighborhood.

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He lives in a place called Vatican City.

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It is a tiny walled-in city right in the

middle of a big city called Rome in Italy.

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This is where the Pope gives big speeches,

says prayers, and works every single day.

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I have a fun secret to share with you.

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I recently went to Vatican

City and got to see St.

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Peter's Basilica with my very own eyes.

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Explorers, it was unbelievable.

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Vatican City is actually its

own tiny country, the smallest

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country in the whole world, and St.

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Peter's Basilica is the breathtaking,

gigantic church right in the middle of it.

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The buildings look like beautiful stone

castles, and the square in front of

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it is so huge that thousands of people

can stand there at the exact same

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time, looking up at the Pope's window.

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It made me feel so small,

but so connected to history.

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So why do people look up to that window?

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Why is the Pope so important?

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Well, the Pope's main job is to remind

everyone to love God and love each other.

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When he speaks, people listen.

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And not just Catholics.

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He uses his voice to protect the

Earth, to ask world leaders to stop

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fighting, and to remind us to care for

people who are poor, lonely, or sick.

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He is a champion for kindness

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Okay, explorers, we've

been sitting for a bit.

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It's time to get up and move.

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Everybody stand up, shake out

your legs, shake out your arms.

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When the Pope goes through giant crowds,

he rides in a special car called the

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Popemobile, so everyone can see him

because it has big glass windows.

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Step one, stand on one foot and balance.

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Step two, put on your

biggest, warmest smile.

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Step three, raise your right hand

and do a slow, royal Popemobile wave.

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To the left, then to the right.

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Switch feet.

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Now balance on the other foot.

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Don't forget that big smile.

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And now wave with your left hand.

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To the right, to the left.

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Awesome job.

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Jump up and down three times and then

sit back down in three, two, one.

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It's game time.

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I'm going to blast you with some

trivia I learned on my trip.

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I want you to shout out your absolute best

guess as loud as you can at your speaker.

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Are your guessing muscles ready?

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Let's play.

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How many popes do you think there

have been in total throughout history?

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A, only one pope;

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B, around 50 popes;

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or C, more than 260 popes.

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If you guessed C, do a victory

dance because you are correct.

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There have been 267 popes in history.

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When one grows old and retires, a

brand-new leader is chosen to step

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up, and that happened recently.

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The current leader is Pope Leo XIV.

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And where in the world do you

think he was born and grew up?

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A, Rome, Italy,

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B, Chicago in the United States,

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or C, Sydney, Australia.

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The answer is B.

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He grew up in the snowy, windy

city of Chicago, Illinois.

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That makes Pope Leo XIV the first pope in

history to come from the United States.

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Time for a true or false.

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True or false, because the Pope is a

massive world leader, he is the boss

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of every single Christian church.

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This one is false.

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The Pope is specifically the leader

for the Catholic Christian family.

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Other Christian religions have

their own wonderful leaders.

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Let's see what you remember

about where the Pope lives.

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True or false, Vatican City is so tiny

that you can walk across the entire

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country in just about 20 minutes.

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I can tell you after

visiting, this is true.

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It is the smallest country

in the whole wide world.

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You can easily jog around the entire

nation during a short school recess.

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Last one, St.

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Peter's Basilica is the

giant church in Vatican City.

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Which of these things is big enough

to fit completely inside of it?

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A, a whole football stadium, or

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B, a giant space rocket

standing straight up.

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The answer is both of them.

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The ceilings are so unimaginably

high that you could park a giant

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moon rocket right inside and still

have room to play football around it.

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Let's cross our Friendship Bridge.

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This is the part where we remember that

even though people believe different

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things, we can always find common ground.

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The Pope is the leader of the

Catholics, but did you know other

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religions have big leaders too?

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Buddhists look up to a wise teacher

of peace called the Dalai Lama.

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I even did an episode on the Dalai

Lama where we talked about why

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he was called the Laughing Monk.

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If you haven't listened,

you should check it out.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints has a leader called a prophet.

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Jewish communities have

leaders called rabbis.

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Muslim communities have

teachers called imams.

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We will learn more about prophets,

rabbis, and imams in our next few

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podcast episodes, so stay tuned.

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Even though they wear different clothes

and pray differently, all of these

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leaders have something in common.

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They want to teach people to be

good, kind, and loving neighbors.

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Now it's time for my

favorite part of the podcast.

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It's story time.

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I wonder what story

we're gonna hear today.

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Let me tell you a true story about Pope

Francis, who was pope earlier this year.

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The golden Italian sun

was beating down on St.

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Peter's Square in Rome, turning

the giant stone courtyard

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into a sea of bright colors.

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Thousands of people from all over the

world were packed together, waving flags,

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taking photos, and listening intently.

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High up on the marble stage sat Pope

Francis in his crisp white robes.

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He was speaking into a microphone, his

voice echoing across the giant crowd.

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Everyone was perfectly still,

listening to his important words.

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Well, almost everyone…

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Near the front row stood a

six-year-old boy named Carlos.

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Carlos was wearing a bright

yellow T-shirt, and he didn't

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quite understand the big speech.

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What he did understand was that

the kind-looking man in white

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looked like he could use a friend.

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Before his mother could catch him, Carlos

slipped right under the security rope.

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The big, serious security guards

in their dark suits froze.

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Their eyes went wide.

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Usually, they were supposed to stop

anyone from running onto the stage.

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But how do you tackle a little boy

in a bright yellow T-shirt who is

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wandering around with a giant smile?

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Carlos walked right up

the massive stone steps.

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He didn't look scared at all.

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He walked straight past the cardinals

in their red robes, straight past

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the microphones, and stopped right

next to the Pope's big white chair.

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The crowd gasped.

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A quiet murmur rippled through

the thousands of people.

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What would the Pope do?

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Would Carlos get in big trouble?

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Pope Francis stopped speaking.

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He looked down.

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Instead of looking angry, a

huge, warm smile crinkled the

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corners of the Pope's eyes.

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He reached out and gently

patted Carlos on the head.

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Carlos looked up at the Pope,

gave a satisfied nod, and

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decided he wasn't going anywhere.

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He didn't want to go back to the crowd.

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He wanted to stay right here.

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So Carlos wrapped his arms right around

the Pope's leg, giving him a giant hug.

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The entire crowd erupted

into laughter and cheers.

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For the next 20 minutes, while the

Pope finished his big speech to the

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world, Carlos hung out on the stage.

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At one point, Carlos even sat down

right in the Pope's giant chair,

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swinging his little legs back and forth.

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When a helper gently tried to offer

Carlos a piece of candy to guide

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him back to his mom, Carlos took the

candy and then walked right back to

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the Pope's side, holding his hand.

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Pope Francis just kept smiling.

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When the speech was over, the Pope

gave Carlos a big blessing and a warm

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hug before sending him back to his

very relieved, very amazed mother.

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That day, the thousands of people in

the square learned a big lesson without

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the Pope even having to say it out loud.

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No matter how important or busy you

think you are, there is always, always

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time to stop and welcome a child.

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What's inside our belief

backpack this week?

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It's time to open up our Belief

Backpacks and put today's lesson in.

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Reach behind you and unzip

your imaginary backpack.

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Zip.

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Today, we are packing the

tool of kind leadership.

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The Pope is a powerful leader,

but his biggest superpower is

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showing love to others, especially

people who are forgotten.

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You don't need a white robe, a

giant church, or a popemobile

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to be a leader like that.

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Being a leader doesn't mean bossing people

around or being the loudest in the room.

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Being a true leader, just like the

Pope tries to do, means looking out

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for others, helping the team, and

making sure everyone feels included.

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How can you be a kind leader to

your friends or siblings today?

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Zip that backpack back up.

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Zip.

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Thank you for exploring with me today.

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I had so much fun sharing my

memories of my Vatican trip with you.

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I'm Laura, and I'll see you

next time on Faithfully Explore.

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For now, remember to stay curious, stay

kind, and keep faithfully exploring

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that wonderful world around you.

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Faithfully Explore! Outro:

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Faithfully Explore!

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is about you.

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Let's grow kinder together it's true!