Pope Francis blesses Denton baby
Pope Francis blesses Immaculate Conception Catholic Church baby. (NTC Archives/2014)
On a hot June morning in Rome, Gloria Mendoza and her husband Agustín Quezada, parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Denton, experienced an inspirational surprise: Pope Francis picked their six-month-old baby, Santiago, out of a crowd and blessed him during the Wednesday papal audience in St. Peter’s Square.
The couple was in Florence this summer for a family wedding and decided to travel to Rome with several members of Gloria’s family. Gloria and Agustín arrived at St. Peter’s Square at 6:30 a.m. June 11 to ensure a good seat at the Holy Father’s audience. While Agustín held Santiago, Gloria had her video camera ready to record Pope Francis when he made his appearance at 10:30.
As the Holy Father passed by their family, he pointed at Santiago, tapped his driver on the shoulder, and told him to stop.
“As I turned the camera, I saw that they took Santiago from Agustín’s arms to take him to Pope Francis,” Gloria told the North Texas Catholic. “He kissed Santiago and gave him back, and the Holy Father rode away with blessings.”
Agustín said he “felt peace and pride inside,” and “felt the warmth of the blessing that it is.” He then said, “It was indescribable. … I just couldn’t believe it when it happened.”
The couple then embraced Santiago saying, “You have no idea what just happened to you.” Agustín and Gloria said the reality “sunk in” when those around them at the papal audience began kissing and touching Santiago.
Even though Agustín and Gloria are highly active in Catholic ministry throughout North Texas, the Pope’s blessing inspired them to delve deeper into their faith by enrolling in the Diocese of Fort Worth’s John Paul II Institute School of Lay Ministry. They hope to learn more about outreach and ministry.
Family friend Isabella Pina-Hinojosa, also a parishioner at Immaculate Conception, said she was in a state of awe when she first heard of Santiago’s papal blessing.
“This child will forever know that the Holy Father gave him a special kiss and a blessing,” said Piña-Hinojosa.