Iona Prep Students Determined To Get Pope Francis' Attention During NYC Visit

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Pope Francis will be in New York City next week.

Catholic school students throughout the area are doing their best to make him feel welcome, CBS2's Lou Young reported Friday.

Students have put paint to paper at Iona Prep in New Rochelle, hoping to catch the attention of one set of eyes.

MORE: Guide To Pope Francis' Visit To NYC

The pope will be here soon and a couple dozen staff and students from the private Catholic school will be close enough to see for themselves the man who has challenged the world to do more for the poor and dispossessed.

"He's got this humbleness about him, the Christ-like qualities about him that make him seem much more genuine to a lot of people," Iona Prep president Brother Thomas Leto said, adding when reminded that like Christ he could upset a lot of people as well, "Yes he will. Yes he will."

Teachers at the school said the pope speaks to the young in way few have ever done before.

"I feel like he's trying to bring reform the old way the church was. He's more of a down-to-earth person," Iona Prep senior Justin Brownwell said.

"He's trying to bring a new light to the church I would say and try to be more accepting. I feel it's a great thing," senior Like Brown added.

It's a simple sign and a simple plan. It will be put up along Fifth Avenue, along the pope's route so he'll see it. Then, who knows?

"Who's to think he's liable to stop and go talk to the kids? I don't know. It'll be kind of cool if that did happen," said Brother John Reynolds, an Iona Prep teacher.

More than celebrity worship, this is actual worship as the student will be expecting a lesson from Pope Francis that will ask us to do more than we have in the past.

When asked if he thinks the pope is coming to New York to congratulate us or straighten us out, Iona Prep seventh grader Tom Nowak said, "I think a little bit of both."

"I think he's going to tell us we're much too consumeristic in our lifestyles and we need to get back to basics," Leto said.

They were thinking about it, even as they were painting their greeting.

"We've been trying our best as children of God to be the best people that we can be," seventh grader Kyle Blackstock added.

The hope is this pope can ease the way on that difficult path.

The Iona students believe the pope's best chance of seeing their sign will be on Thursday.

Keep it right here for coverage of all the pontiff's events on Sept. 24-26. You can watch live coverage on CBS2 and on CBSNewYork.com.