Vatican City – An extraordinary meeting took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis surprised Sister Francesca Battiloro, a cloistered nun on a pilgrimage from Naples.
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Sister Francesca, 75, was praying when the Pope approached, heading toward St. Peter's Square. "I had asked God to meet the Pope, and he answered my prayers," the nun told Vatican News.
The nun, accompanied by a group of friends and relatives, had come to Rome to experience the Jubilee of the Sick and the World of Health. Due to her health conditions, she had been allowed to pray privately in the Basilica, while the Mass was held in St. Peter's Square.
Sister Francesca's emotion: "The two wheelchairs have met"
While praying in front of the tomb of the apostle, Sister Francesca saw the Pope approaching, on his first outing after being hospitalized for pneumonia. “The two wheelchairs met,” the nun said emotionally, shaking the Pontiff’s hand.
Pope Francesco, with his usual ironic spirit, asked the nun if she was "one of those nuns from Naples", referring to an episode in 2015 in which he had been "surrounded" by a group of nuns.
Sister Francesca, who was present at that event but was unable to greet the Pope, this time she had the opportunity to spend ten minutes with him. “I'm happy, and who would have expected it!”, she exclaimed.
The nun expressed to the Pontiff her desire to “die in the act of pure love” and assured him of her prayers for his recovery. “I told him: Your Holiness, I am praying so much, I have offered my life to Jesus so that you may be healed and I, instead, am leaving… He smiled,” she said.
Article published on 6 April 2025 - 17:44
It is really nice to see that there are such special moments like this, but I wonder if it was a planned meeting or a coincidence. The nun certainly felt great emotion and joy in this unique and rare event.