MANCHESTER — Bishop Peter Libasci asked the students of St. Benedict Academy on Tuesday to keep their ears and their hearts open to God's call to service. Libasci was at the school on Tuesday as part of Catholic Schools Week.

Libasci heard the call to serve as a priest when he was a child, he told the pre-school through sixth-grade students. First he became an altar server and later made the decision to become a priest.

“In a million years, I never thought I'd be called to be a bishop, but you know what? I love it,” said the Diocese of Manchester leader.

Libasci was at St. Benedict Academy on Tuesday as part of Catholic Schools Week. The week traditionally begins the final Sunday in January and is a time when Catholic schools throughout the country hold open houses and celebrate the distinct characteristics of a Catholic education.

Bishop Libasci began the week by celebrating Mass on Monday at St. Mary Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, both in Dover.

Before going to St. Benedict Academy on Tuesday, Libasci celebrated Mass at St. Patrick School in Pelham. Today, Libasci will celebrate Ms at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Derry and on Friday at Holy Trinity School in Laconia at St. Joseph Church.

St. Benedict Academy students gave the bishop a warm welcome on Tuesday, singing songs and presenting him with a small school football and coffee mug in a box signed by the students.

Third-grade student Megan Dolley welcomed Libasci, speaking on behalf of all the students. She told him the theme for the school year is how they can help God's kingdom grow. The students then sang the song, “God is Wild,” accompanied with choreographed movements, “to show how God loved and takes care of all his animals,” said Dolley.

The student female chorus, the Angels, also sang for the bishop.

Libasci told the students that while some will become lawyers or nurses, some may take a different path.

“Maybe some of you, God will call you in a special way,” he said. “If he says, ‘Come follow me,' ... you can be a sign that Jesus really is with us,” said Libasci.

The bishop did not forget to weigh in on another pressing issue on the community's mind — the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Although he was a New York Giants fan in his previous position, now he plans to cheer for the New England Patriots.

“This year I can cheer on the Pats and say, ‘Come on! Show us how it's done,'” said Libasci.

Before the students arrived in the school gymnasium for the assembly, Libasci met with parents and members of the local Catholic community. They asked the bishop to bless their rosary beads, offer blessings for their children and thanked him for the visit.

After the assembly, Libasci visited some of the school classrooms, inspected student work hanging on the walls and listened to Susan LaPlame's sixth-grade class perform a school cheer they wrote for Catholic Schools Week.

Throughout his visit, Libasci fondly remembered his days in Catholic school, from the uniforms to sometimes having to do more with less.

“Here we get life lessons that we carry with us forever,” said Libasci.