The Papal Conclave begins Wednesday in Rome, but on Tuesday, some North Texas school kids got a hands-on lesson on what will be happening at the Vatican.

Mary Immaculate Catholic School in Farmers Branch held a mock conclave Tuesday morning, where they elected their very own pope.

It’s been 12 years since the last Papal Conclave, so for most of the students at Mary Immaculate, what’s happening in Rome is a first for them.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for the children to actually experience the election of a new pope,” said Father Alphonse Nazzaro, pastoral administrator at MIS. “This doesn’t happen often, and so I think it’s a wonderful chance for the children to see the process, procedures, the attention to detail that is involved in electing a new pope.”

They didn’t have much time, but in a matter of days, the school was able to put together a mini-conclave.

The seventh and eighth grade boys donned scarlet robes, processed into their own Sistine Chapel, locked the doors, and began the secret process of electing the next pope.

The children weren’t able to reach a two-thirds consensus on the first round of ballots, as may be the case in Rome on Wednesday.

Eventually, the cardinals at MIS were able to signal to all those anxiously waiting that they had chosen a new pope.

The students cheered wildly at the sight of white smoke pouring from the chimney, as their classmate “Cardinal” Christopher Gleichman, who chose the name Pope James, waved to the crowd from the elevated platform resembling the balcony at St. Peter’s. He even took a brief ride in a makeshift popemobile.

It was a fun experience for everyone, but the hope is that the lesson will stay with even the youngest of children for a lifetime.

“It’s just a great opportunity for everyone — even the littles,” said eighth grader Lilyauna Montoya. “They might not have known what was going on, but to get excited for the white and black smoke, to show that’s what’s actually happening back up in Rome.”

“Of course, they’re identifying with, ‘Oh, here’s a student in our school who was just elected pope,’ and on the little popemobile, he’s generating an excitement that’s more like a basketball game,” said principal Sister Mary Anne. “But they do understand on some level that they were part of a process.”

It’s a process that, when it plays out in reality this week in Rome, may bring hope, not just to Roman Catholics, but the entire world.