Montgomery County woman reflects on pope's 2015 visit to US
Montgomery County woman reflects on pope's 2015 visit to US
Pope Francis, the 266th Bishop of Rome and Sovereign of the Vatican City, died on Easter Monday. He was 88 years old. FOX 5 spoke with one Montgomery County woman got a chance to meet him on his visit to the U.S. back in 2015.
WASHINGTON - Pope Francis, the 266th Bishop of Rome and Sovereign of the Vatican City, died on Easter Monday. He was 88 years old.
The Vatican confirmed his death early Monday in an announcement read out by Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican Camerlengo, from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta, where Francis lived.
Pope Francis was revered by many, referred to as "the People's Pope."
Local perspective:
On Pope Francis’s trip to Washington D.C. 2015, he made a number of stops in the area, including at the Basilica. But before he stopped there, he arrived at Joint Base Andrews where he was welcomed by former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama and a group of children from local churches.
FOX 5 spoke with one Montgomery County woman got a chance to meet him on his visit to the U.S.
"It was a whirlwind of emotions. It was excitement, I was scared. I was like, ‘I can’t mess this up,'" Jocelyn Anquino told FOX 5. "He came down. I said welcome to the United States in Spanish, he spoke to me back in Spanish and he shook my hand."
It was her one and only chance to meet the pope.
At 12 years old, Anquino — who is now 22 — was one of four kids who had the chance to welcome Pope Francis to Maryland at Joint Base Andrews almost 10 years ago, handing him a bouquet of white flowers.
"He is the pope, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like I was speaking to someone I knew," Anquino said.
She told FOX 5 it felt special when he spoke to her in Spanish – her native tongue.
"In the moment I spoke to him in Spanish it was like speaking from my community, knowing that he spoke to me back in Spanish was a great honor," Anquino said. "He was an amazing pope. He was so humble. So loving. He cared for everybody even those who weren’t Catholic."
Dig deeper:
Outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception are two black drapes in between the front doors to the church. People stopped by to pay their respects.
"He’s the leader of our church! He’s a people's pope. Very humble and it’s great loss," said Annmarie Fiore.
Inside the church during mass, parishioners took a moment to remember the head of the Catholic Church, who led the church for 12 years, teaching compassion towards the poor and asking for peace across the nations.
"For us that attend mass regularly, there is this feeling of something missing. We are praying for the pope and intercessions for the repose of his soul and not the work that he is doing because obviously his earthly life has ended," said William Gerads, a student at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
Inside the Basilica there is a book of remembrance for guests to sign it's right by the doors that take you into the church.