East Harlem students rehearse the song they will sing for Pope Francis

EAST HARLEM (WABC) -- Among the places Pope Francis will visit on his trip to New York City is an elementary school in East Harlem.

And on Wednesday, some of the students rehearsed the song they will sing for him.

It's not unusual for students at the Catholic school to sing church hymns, but this was no ordinary rehearsal.

At St. Paul School on East 118th Street, the third and fourth graders are getting ready to sing "The Prayer of St. Francis" for Pope Francis.

"He looks to St. Francis as his role model, someone who gave up all of his riches and basically gave up everything in his life to just worship God," said St. Paul School principal Joseph Muscente.

The three boys and three girls will meet the pope along with students from three other parochial schools in Harlem. Each group has been working on various projects on issues important to the pontiff, such as community service and the environment.

Even before meeting him, the 7 and 8-year olds say Francis has made an impact in their lives and understand his message.

"Love all people the same and treat people the way you want to be treated," said fourth grader Lori Jeudy.

"He's very special to me because he cares about others. He loves us no matter what we look like," said third grader Charles Orajtaka.

All 24 kids from the four schools will sing a song specially chosen for the Holy Father.

"The clock is ticking, it's starting to sink in how fortunate we are to really have this once in a lifetime opportunity," said Muscente.

The students will sing two verses in English and two in Spanish.

"I know that he's going to like it because I want him to," said fourth grader Benjamin Grassia.

And it just might make his day.