Letícia Silveira is still thrilled to remember the moment she saw the Pope Francis pass a few meters away. Next to her husband, Ramon Pulchério, she accompanied the Easter Mass directly from São Pedro Square in Rome, last Sunday (20).
It was the last public appearance of the Pontiff, a historical moment that deeply touched the heart of the Pernambuco.
“He surprised us there in the square. He went down from the Paparmobile, walked among the faithful. We managed to wave to him and he waved back,” says Leticia. Watch a video below:
The couple reports that the Pope appeared to be difficult to walk and talk to Catholics. Even so, he took some babies on his lap and blessed several children.
“We, as faithful, as a Christian, believe that he was saying goodbye to the Catholic Church as a whole, the faithful, even who is not Catholic,” said the marketing manager.
For the couple, it was a true gift from God witnessing the Pope’s last public appearance.
Special memory
Who also holds a special memory of Francisco is economist Clovis Cavalcanti, resident of Olinda. On November 23, 2016, he and his wife were welcomed by the Pope in a private Vatican audience. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes.
Clovis presented the pontiff with a book of his authorship on ecological economy. “Upon arrival, the Pope came toward me. I said, ‘Papa Francis, I’m here as president of the Ecological Economy Society.’ The Pope asked, ‘What is ecological economy?’” He recalls.
The teacher explained that the theme had already been approached by Pope Francis in his first encyclical. “Ecological economy is to use nature’s resources for productive transformations, respecting the limits of the environment.”
According to Clovis, the conversation had a light and affectionate tone. “The Pope gave all the attention. He was a very welcoming person. Even football we said. I said I didn’t cheer for any major team in Rio de Janeiro, but to one from Pernambuco, who didn’t play games with his team in Argentina, San Lorenzo. The Pope smiled.”
Before saying goodbye, Clovis was presented with two thirds that he keeps with love to this day. This last Holy Week, he received from religious Catholic Church a medal with the image of Francis, sent directly from the Vatican.
Travel to meet Papa Francisco
Motivated by faith, Kleber Freire and Patrícia Maia embarked from Recife to Rome in 2013, with the aim of accompanying the conclave that elected Pope Francis. “It was a period of intense faith, renewal and several United Nations,” recalls Patricia.
At the time, the couple planned to visit other countries in Europe, but reprogramed the entire script to stay more time in Italy and closely experience that historic moment.
“At the time, we were boyfriends. Now we are married and thinking of reliving all this. We will wait for the next few days to know what the new conclave will look like,” said lawyer Kleber.
This content was originally published in God’s Gift: Pernambucans remember moments with Papa Francisco on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
