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ABOARD PAPAL PLANE \u2014 On the papal flight to Paris Sept. 25, Pope Leo XIV recalled spending time with his family as a child watching Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, who was beatified the day before in St. Louis, sharing the truths of the faith on television.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe watched him as a family,\u201d the pope said in response to a question from OSV News. \u201cIt was a way of \u2026 spending some time together as a family with the truths, with the teachings that he shared in such an enthusiastic, lively way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message that he had was something that really came home to people and I think helped us as a family,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe 71-year-old pope also joked, \u201cI\u2019m that old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo acknowledged that he would have liked to attend the beatification of Blessed Sheen,<\/a> whom he noted was also originally from Illinois.<\/p>\n \u201cI received messages during the beatification ceremony yesterday writing and saying, \u2018Why weren\u2019t you here?\u2019 That would\u2019ve been so great,\u201d he said of the beatification of Archbishop Sheen, which took place in St. Louis Sept. 24 with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance.<\/p>\n Speaking with journalists aboard the papal plane, a chartered ITA Airways jet, en route from Rome to Paris, the pope also spoke about the challenge of artificial intelligence and the record number of adult baptisms in France this year, calling it evidence of the \u201cspiritual thirst\u201d present in the country and the \u201cauthentic searching for something that is deeper, more meaningful in young people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI, above all, am traveling to France, as to anywhere else in the world, as a follower of Jesus Christ wanting to proclaim peace, the peace of Christ throughout the world. It is a message which at this time, as we all know, is particularly important,\u201d the pope told the more 80 journalists on board from 10 different countries.<\/p>\n Asked by a CNN reporter about his fellow colleagues who had issues accessing the White House in recent weeks, the pope responded that he was \u201cvery happy that here you are all welcome and good coverage, I think, is very important and that we have it \u2026 for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to questions about his fluency in French, the pope answered he has been practicing a little bit, but specified he is not using the language-learning app Duolingo anymore.<\/p>\n Pope Leo XIV<\/a> has previously spoken about watching Blessed Fulton J. Sheen\u2019s television program as a child, and has praised Blessed Sheen for bringing the Gospel to millions of Americans through his radio and television broadcasts.<\/p>\n \u201cArchbishop Sheen was a light of faith, hope, and love that shone through the radio and television media for decades,\u201d Pope Leo said during an audience with members of the Pontifical Mission Societies on June 1.<\/p>\n