“Papa, Papa!” These were the only words that seemed to come out of my mouth. I had the honor of seeing Pope Francis in Philadelphia a couple of week ago. I left Philly with a new mindset of the power that Pope Francis has in his life. I left my cousin’s house in Philly at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning with the desire to just get a glance of the holiest man on Earth. Security check took hours, but we were never discouraged because we were all in prayer. Once we got past security, we made our way through the crowds until we reached Benjamin Franklin Parkway because we knew that the Pope would take this route to reach the location of his afternoon speech. We waited and waited patiently while listening and watching various Christian singers and dancers. We started conversing with the people around us who came from various countries to see Pope Francis. They talked to us about their pilgrimage and journey to see His Holiness. When it became 7:30 p.m., my family knew that Pope Francis would be embarking on his route soon. We all jumped onto the ledge of a garden and started chanting, “Viva El Papa!” We saw many police cars passing by and immediately pulled out our iPhones and started recording. All of the sudden, we heard people screaming from a distance, and then it got closer, and closer, and closer. Pope Francis was here! He was on his Pope mobile and was waving to the crowds. I left my family and chased him down the sidewalk because I wanted to be in his presence. Luckily, Pope Francis came back around so I could get another look at His Holiness. My family and I were so elated and started clapping to songs that were sung by our fellow Spanish parishioners.

We came back to Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday to see the Pope once more. We didn’t even know if we would see him, but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity. While we were waiting, my brother and I starting playing with a baby named Skylar who sat right in front of us. Suddenly, we saw people getting out of their seats and running towards the barricades. The Pope was coming! My dad pulled me up to the fence to get a better view, and once all the security passed by, we saw the Pope! As the Pope passed by the crowded streets, his Pope mobile abruptly stopped. I didn’t know what was going on, and once I got a better view, I saw baby Skylar, the baby my brother and I played with, being kissed by the Pope! I turned around and saw Skylar’s mom crying with happiness. I was very blessed to have seen the Pope in Philly. It was one of the best days of my life, and I recommend that everyone to attend The World Meetings of Families in Dublin, Ireland in 2018!