Meeting the Pope!!!

Never in my life would I have thought that one day I would meet the Pope, but today I had the amazing opportunity to meet him, talk to him and even take a selfie with him! If it is a must to take a selfie with President Aoun during our time at Northeastern, I knew that this was my golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to get a selfie with the Pope. So before you all think I´m crazy and I am making this up, the proof is in the pudding. So here is my selfie with the Pope :)

Pretty cool huh! I can´t believe it myself and I am still shaking after having shook his hand and talked to him. But before I tell you more about this crazy experience, I should back track and tell you how this happened. To make the story really short, my aunt has super crazy wish granting powers and thanks to her and a few other amazing people who worked tirelessly I was able to meet him during one of my lasts days in Rome. I am so thankful to them!

The Golden Ticket

So what happened...

Today as every Wednesday, Pope Francis was having the Papal Audience which consists of small teachings and readings mainly in Italian but also in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and sometimes other languages depending on groups visiting. The Pope greets everybody in each language and shares his insight with everybody present. If you are ever in Rome on a Wednesday, you can go to the Vatican and see him as it s free of charge. However, I was given a special place to sit at that was on one of the sides of the stage where the Pope gives his blessings. Furthermore, at the end of the event he comes around to greet and talk to everybody.

The whole experience was crazy, I was greeted by Monsignore Murray, the personal secretary to H.E. the Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He took me through the Vatican (areas you really can´t visit when you are just touring the museums) and then led me to my seat. The whole ceremony was very interesting to watch and I really enjoyed listening to the Pope talk about his visit to Egypt after the terrible attacks that took place there a couple weeks ago. But what amazed me the most is how kind the Pope was. He did not just walk around to say hi or shake people´s hands but he truly listened to everybody.
I was extremely nervous as he approached me but we talked in Spanish and he was just wonderful. I also wrote a letter for him. They told me to bring a copy and give one to Monsignore Murphy to make sure the Pope received it which I did, and I kept the other one in my hand throughout the entire ceremony. The funny thing is that when I finally met the Pope I was so nervous I forgot to give it to him, which is why I am so glad I rewrote the letter and gave the copy to Monsignore Murphy.

I know you may all be wondering why I wanted to meet the Pope so much since I am Jewish. I think that this may be best explained by a part of the letter I wrote to him. So here it is:

"Like you, I come from a family of immigrants. My great grandparents from my mom´s side where forced to leave Europe during the Second World War because of their faith. They left to find a place where it would be possible to have a life with freedoms and the ability to practice their religion without risk. Destiny brought them to Mexico giving me a new community I now belong to. On my dad´s side, religious persecution in Iraq forced my grandparents and my six month old dad to escape to Canada.
 Although my life has a complicated origin, my purpose in life is simple: our obligation as human beings is to not be witnesses to the whims of history, but active architects of a better world for all.

This is why in my twenty-one years I have done everything I can to find myself in a position where I can make a difference that will have a positive impact on my community, my country and if possible on the world.

Your Holiness has showed me that this is possible and that it is important to fight for our principles and for the need to create a more just society for all; a place where socio-economic, gender and circumstantial inequality does  not exist.You have taught me that although we come from different places, or we have different ideas, opinions and even faiths, solidarity and fraternity between people must be the basic principle that guides political, economic and social decision making in our countries and in our lives."

So all in all, today has been a day I will never forget. Without making this post too long, here are some more pictures.