Exceptional encounters with the Pope

Pope John Paul II’s eagerness to travel the world and meet with Catholics face-to-face will be one of the things for which he is most remembered.  MSNBC readers share their experiences and encounters with the Pontiff, and how these moments impacted their lives.(We are no longer taking submissions on this topic. Thank you for your interest and the thousands of wonderful stories.)

Lifetime vow

Blanca Morrison

We had the special opportunity to be married in St. Peter's and to be blessed by the Pope. I am originally from Venezuela and my husband is from the United States. When I was young, I lived in Italy, and I told everyone that when I grew up I would be wed in the Vatican by the pope, and everyone told me that I was dreaming. I had to leave Italy, but I never lost my dream, and the future brought my husband and me back to Rome. Everyone's life is made up of dreams and hope, and if you keep your faith dreams can become real, and your most treasured hopes can be realized. Thank you Giovanni Paolo II for touching our lives and for being "El Papa del pueblo".
--Blanca Morrison

Powerful blessing
In September 1987, my husband of two months and I went to San Antonio to see Pope John Paul II. We were lucky to be at the end of our row, where the Pope would be going past to get to the altar to celebrate mass. As the Pope passed by us, his procession stopped and he looked out into the crowd. He seemed to look directly into my eyes, and I remember the love and gentleness emanating from him. He passed a blessing on to me and smiled, and at that moment I looked at my husband and told him that I thought I might be pregnant, even though I had had no symptoms.

The next week my doctor verified that I was indeed about two weeks pregnant. My son was born in June 30, 1988, nine months and two weeks after seeing the Pope. To this day my son is an extremely devout Catholic, and is a very strong and loving person. He seems to have the same love and gentleness is his eyes as he was blessed with so long before his birth. 

I have always felt that my son would have a calling for the church, but have never stated this to him. In the past two years he has several times asked me questions about joining the seminary, which I would be so proud for him to do. So I honestly feel that not me, but by son was truly blessed by the Pope on his visit to San Antonio in 1987.
--Becky Mullican, Baytown, Texas

He is my hero
I met Pope John Paul II in 1998.  I kissed his ring and rubbed his hand on my cheek. When I finally let go of his hand he reached over to my other cheek and rubbed and patted it. I think he is the greatest Pope we have had. I cried and cried when he died. As he got older and the Parkinson became more pronounced, he still kept going and doing and wanting to be a part of everything he could do. He is my hero. I have Multiple Sclerosis and I am the same way. I still go and do as much as I can. I need the help of my husband more and more but I do not want to give up and just sit in a corner and miss out on so much. Pope John Paul II gave me the strength and the guidance to keep going. He is definitely Pope John Paul the Great and in my eyes he is already a saint. My prayers go out to him.
--Theresa Lenfert, Sellersburg, Ind.

The hand of God
One Wednesday, during the summer of '95, I had the opportunity to visit the Vatican.  I thought I arrived too late in the day to be part of the Pope's General Audience. While staring in amazement at the beauty of St. Peter's, I noticed crowds rushing to get a position and seat at the pews. I unwittingly followed and was able to jockey a spot on the isle.  After 15 minutes of waiting in anticipation, not know what was going to happen, the Pope started walking down the center aisle with an entourage. A rush of adrenaline ran through my body. I stuck my hand out and his Holiness clasped my hand for a brief, but precise moment. Time stood still. His hand was so soft and big.  It felt as if my hand sunk into his palm. I walked around in peaceful daze for several hours feeling that the "hand of God" had touched me.
--James Ramos, San Francisco, Calif.

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A spring break to remember
I was living in London at the time. Attending the American University of Richmond College in Central London. It was spring of 1996. The Catholic world was preparing for Easter. The students were preparing for spring break. Europe for spring break was such a privilege. I had so many options: skiing in Switzerland, pub-crawl in Ireland, cafe's in Amsterdam or beaches in Ibiza. Instead of the glamour of exotic destinations, I said 'arrivederci' to my classmates and chose a humble pilgrimage to Rome on my own. As student traveling goes, it was a budget trip to say the least. I booked into a convent 2 miles from St. Peter's Square (during the busy Easter week, most convents convert to simple B&B's).

With my letter of recommendation in hand, (7 years alter boy service was no small accomplishment!) I found Via dell'Umilta 30 in historic Rome. It is where the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican is located. My hope was to get a general audience ticket with the Pope for one of the many events leading up to Easter. I proceeded to the request office. The priest saw my recommendation letter. He saw that I was on my own. Perhaps he saw a candidate in me! At any rate, he saw I came to see the pope.

He was generous enough to give me tickets to the Holy Thursday Mass, The Good Friday Mass and Saturday Vigil. I was overjoyed at his generosity. Then he saved the best ticket for last: admission to the Easter Sunday Mass.

I arrived early that Easter Morning as there were well over 100,000 expected. I didn't know where I was meant to sit until I showed my ticket to an usher. I proceeded past the other pilgrims, past the Italians, past the Swiss Guards, past the priests and found my spot, much to my great surprise, on the alter sitting amongst the cardinals and bishops of the world! The ticket that the priest had given me was about 30 yards from the pope presiding over Easter Mass! It was an event that has blessed me and provided much grace throughout my life!
--Brendan O'Connor, Gilbert, Ariz.

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