As he arrived in Ajaccio and wandered around the city in his popemobile, Pope Francis took the time to bless a baby. RMC found his family. His parents still haven't gotten over it.
When they took to the streets of Ajaccio this Sunday around 7 a.m., to see Pope Francis visiting Corsica, Emilien and Audrey certainly did not expect to see their 4 and a half month old son, Andréa , to be blessed by the sovereign pontiff.
“We were at the side of the road. The little one was sleeping. We put the little one on the barrier to see the Pope. And he decided to come and get him. He sent someone to come and get him. We didn't didn't understand”, says Audrey, who has difficulty hiding her joy.
“The gentleman took the little one and took him to the pope, who blessed him, kissed him. And he got a little rosary as a souvenir,” she continues. The day couldn't have started better. “It's hard to get over it. It's so wonderful. It's a blessing. It's huge,” explains the mother, who admits to having “shed my tears because it was magnificent.”
Emilien, the dad, also cried with emotion. “It was really moving. It’s a wonderful day,” he rejoices.
“This is the first Ajaccian baby blessed by the pope. I hope he will realize it later. I hope that for him, it will mean a lot,” Emilien repeats, as if in a dream.
After this crowd bath, Pope Francis spoke during a congress on “popular religiosity in the Mediterranean”, then he pronounced the Angelus at Ajaccio Cathedral. He will continue this afternoon with an open-air mass in front of nearly 9,000 people.
