The Cutest Argentine You'll Ever See

Why, hello there reader! I'm so glad you decided to sneak a peek at my blog today because, boy, do I have a great post (and pictures) for you! 

Even though I typically only write posts on Sundays, today was so special I had to write one just for this event...

I met Pope Francis. 

Okay, well I saw him. Met... saw... what's the difference, right?

JFRC gave us the day off of school today so that we could all attend the Papal Audience with the tickets they provided. How can you pass up the opportunity to see the head of the Catholic church IN PERSON!? Obviously, I couldn't resist!

My morning started off bright and early at 5:30am; by 6am, I was out the door and headed to Vatican City. I was easily one of the first 30 people in line. Early bird gets the worm. 

After throwing my purse onto the security conveyor belt (at 7:30am; the Carabinieri had to enjoy their coffee of course...), I sped through the metal detector, grabbed by purse, and began power walking towards the largest church on the planet! My friends and I were able to snag incredible seats about 7 rows back right along the central aisle.

Rain fell on and off throughout the morning. All the colors of the rainbow were represented in umbrella form! And there were some pretty attractive Swiss guards near me, so I didn't mind having to wait for a while.

But, the instant Pope Francis came out, I kid you not, the rain ceased. After 3.5 hours of waiting, we finally saw him and could put those umbrellas away!

Once Pope Francis was safely under cover of his stage, the rain picked back up again (it's not a coincidence anymore...)

After a reading, short homily, and a blessing, it was time for Francis to skeddadle back to doing what he does best: serving the poor and making people smile. And making the rain stop! Again, not a joke...

So today was pretty much awesome. I got to see the Pope. But, Pope Francis isn't like previous popes: he is intensely caring and tends to do whatever he wants. I heard that he showed up at a soup kitchen last semester where JFRC students were serving the homeless just because he wanted to help. And his staff didn't know where he had gone, which is personally my favorite part of the story. So, I got to see and be blessed by a Christian living Jesus' message to the fullest. Day = made.

And I got a selfie with him waaaaaay in the background. Why not?

Arrivederci!

Gina