Pope Francis stops car to kiss disabled girl
A family flagged down the Pope's car using signs at the side of the road
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pope Francis surprised the residents in a small Italian town on the weekend when he stopped his motorcade to meet a young disabled girl and her family who had waited for him by the side of the road.
The Holy See and his entourage were travelling on a road near the home of the Catholic family, when he noticed the family holding banners reading: 'Please Pope stop here to see an angel who has been waiting for you', and 'Please come and bless little Roberta', the Catholic News Agency reported.
A video uploaded by the family on Facebook shows the Pope step out from his car as Roberta, who is lying in a stretcher, is taken by her family to meet him.
The pontiff then kisses Roberta, who needs a machine to enable her to breathe, according to news.va.
Her family voiced their gratitude to the Holy Father on Facebook.
“I still can't believe it, thank you Holy Father...I thank the Pope for having given us a moment of great joy,” her sister, Pamela, wrote.
Ivan Vania, a friend who helped make the posters calling the Pope’s attention said on the website: “it was very emotional to see how Pope Francis greeted Roberta.
"There are gestures in life that are worth more than speeches, much more than you would think...Pope Francis is unique.”
Pope Francis met Roberta on his return from Cassano allo Jonio, where he excommunicated the Mafia and called out the organisation for what he saw was its “adoration of evil and contempt”.
During his tenure, the Pope has been praised for attempting to refresh the Catholic Church by renouncing privileges he is entitled to, and attempting to focus attention on how Catholics can help the poor and vulnerable.
Earlier in June, the Pope removed the entire board of the Holy City's financial watchdog, in an attempt to clean up the Institute of Religious Works (IOR) bank which has been mired in scandal.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments