Celebrating the pope!

“We have a new pope.”

The text from my brother was so exciting…..I was feverishly checking my cell phone while the children bounced at one of those indoor bounce houses. I just wanted to stay glued to my TV at home, but “life” called. The kids needed to get out……and “jump around” as the song says. We  had been watching the ceremony the day before and discussing how the white smoke would signal a new pope for us. As we watched the doors of the Sistine chapel close, signaling the beginning of the Conclave, our excitement grew.  How long would we have to wait? Would the new pope be from the United States? Who would it be?

NOW……the verdict is in!!!! 

Pope Francisco of Argentina!!!!! Viva la Papa!

A couple of fun facts about the new Holy Father:

• he is the first pope from the “americas”.
• he is from Argentina
• his father was an railroad worker, and his mother a housewife
• he was a Jesuit priest
• he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.
• he only has one lung, he lost the other one to infection as a youth
• he was the former archbishop of Buenas Aires before becoming cardinal
• unlike his successors ,as a cardinal, he lived in a small apartment; took the bus; and cooked his own meals

So….why not try out some new things from Argentina for dinner? I knew the kids would be excited!!! So first, we hit the internet and used about.com to help with some ideas for our Argentinian dinner and dessert. But first, my helpers wanted to make some fun party favors.

Check out these two cuties with this adorable pope mitres. Thanks to Catholic inspired we were able to print these up pretty quickly and have some fun attire for our dinner. You can print out your own here.

Here’s what we came up with…..

• Grilled steak with Chimichurri sauce

• mashed potatoes with garlic and cheddar (not south american but delicious with steak)
• steamed broccoli

• Pasteles-Argentinean Caramel-filled crescents

** side note….these were phenomenal!!!! I read some reviews and decided to just buy the refrigerated pillsbury pie crust and then sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving****

These fun cupcake toppers worked great in our dessert and offered another opportunity to talk about the vatican and the new pope. You can get these toppers and this poster that explains the papal insignia from here.

In the busyness that is our lives, it’s nice to be able to celebrate in a simple way, some pretty big events….even on a week night!!!