University of Notre Dame family attending Pope Francis event

One family in Washington D.C. to listen to Pope Francis has ties to Michiana. 

"I'm very excited. It really means a lot to me because I really admire him and he's someone I definitely look up to, and I'm really anxious to see," says Sarah Foley. "I'm very strong in my faith. I've learned about previous popes and I wrote a segment about Pope Francis for my middle school paper."

Her parents took her out of school for the week to see the Pope, saying the principal of Sarah's school excused her to exercise her faith. 

The Foley family got special tickets to see Pope Francis address Congress.

The Foleys have a son studying at the University of Notre Dame and will fly in next weekend for parents weekend and share their special trip with him.