Mercy High School freshman set to ask question of Pope Leo XIV

The email arrived at a red light.

Noma Smothers glanced at her phone as she sat in the family van with her daughter, Mia, a freshman at Mercy High School in Baltimore. Just moments earlier, they had been joking about the slim chances of Mia being chosen to ask a question of Pope Leo XIV during the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, a four-day gathering of 15,000 young Catholics from across the country, running Nov. 20-23.

Mia Smothers, a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church in Abingdon, Harford County, stands with a cutout of newly elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, while attending the Steubenville Youth Conference in Ohio this past summer. (Courtesy of the Smothers Family)

Now the email on Noma’s screen confirmed what seemed like would have been next to impossible: Her 14-year-old daughter was indeed one of just five youths selected for the “digital dialogue” with the pontiff, scheduled to livestream from Lucas Oil Stadium the morning of Nov. 21.

“What? No! That is crazy!” Noma remembered exclaiming.

“I got so excited,” said Mia, a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales in Abingdon. “My mom and I wanted to tell everyone. It made my day 10 times better.”

Mia, a St. Joan of Arc School, Aberdeen, graduate, is the second in a family of 10 children with an 11th due in June. Her father, Chuck Smothers, summed up the family’s reaction simply: “It’s a very special moment.”

A fitting selection

Mia’s name reached NCYC organizers through Mercy alumna Diane Moniuszko Lewis, director of evangelization at St. Francis de Sales and a 10-year NCYC chaperone. Lewis initially thought she was recommending Mia only to help craft questions youths would pose to the pope. Final selections were made after a series of Zoom interviews evaluating candidates’ speaking and presentation skills.

Lewis said Mia’s faith-filled life made her an ideal choice. She serves as an altar server and has a devotion to eucharistic adoration.

“Mia is amazing,” Lewis said, praising the teen’s constant smile and positive outlook. “It’s contagious.”

Archbishop William E. Lori echoed that sentiment in a news release, noting Mia’s “strong faith and generous heart.”

“Her deep love for our Lord certainly inspires those of us around her,” he said. “Being selected to speak with the Holy Father is a beautiful testament to the example she sets for her family, her parish, classmates and community. We are thrilled for this opportunity for Mia.”

Faith, family, service

Faith is the “compass for our family,” Noma and her husband Chuck shared while speaking with the Catholic Review.

The youth delegation traveling Nov. 20 to the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) from St. Francis de Sales Church in Abingdon, Harford County, receives a special blessing from Father Zachary Watson at the conclusion of Mass Nov. 17. Some 75 youth from the Archdiocese of Baltimore will participate in the weekend conference. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

The Smothers family values are “God, Faith, Family and Service,” according to Mia. At their core is a family mission statement that reads, “Reach up (to God). Reach in (to ourselves). Reach out (to others).”

Chuck Smothers, with the help of his wife, converted to Catholicism in 2014.

Mia’s commitment to service extends well beyond Sunday Mass. For several years, she has served as an altar server, Vacation Bible School counselor, youth group member and lector at St. Francis de Sales.

She earned her Bronze Award as a Girl Scout by painting benches and helping restore Harford Glen Park. She has also been an active cadet in the Civil Air Patrol, a nonprofit citizen auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force that strives to “transform youths into dynamic citizens” through leadership training and outdoor activities – though she paused her involvement to navigate the start of her freshman year.

Since beginning her time at Mercy, Mia has joined the Mercy Madrigals and JV cheer team.

Mercy High School President Mary Beth Lennon, a 1985 alumna, expressed pride in Mia and emphasized the deep connections between Pope Leo and the Sisters of Mercy. She noted that the pope was born on Chicago’s South Side in the former Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and that his mother’s sister, Sister Mary Sulpice Martinez, was a Sister of Mercy. During his missionary service in Peru, he also collaborated closely with Sisters of Mercy alongside the Augustinian community in Chulucanas.

Looking forward to NCYC

Mia’s interest in NCYC began in sixth grade during a youth group retreat where she watched a video about the national gathering. She had to wait until high school to attend.

Mercy High School freshman Mia Smothers reads a book on the patron of the religious order founded by Mother Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy, in the school library Nov. 13. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“I can see more like-minded people in the faith,” Mia said. “I would like to be around people who know God and love God.”

Lewis said adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is consistently one of the most powerful moments of the conference, often moving even those who first appear disinterested.

“After two days, they’ve become open to an authentic encounter with Christ during adoration,” she said.

Some 15,000 youths are expected at the 2025 conference in Indianapolis, including about 75 from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Asked if she’s imagining what her exchange with Pope Leo might be like, Mia said, “No. … I want to be surprised.”

The dialogue is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21, at 10:15 a.m. EST, marking the first time a pope will directly engage with U.S. youths in a live digital session at NCYC. Mercy High School will host a watch party that morning so all students can view the event.

Email Kevin Parks at kparks@CatholicReview.org