The Pope & my grandma

You know, it's weird. I know what to say. I actually wrote a blog about it when it first happened 3 years ago on Myspace.... Why can't I start this one?! 

I guess I should start with all the coverage when the Pope was dying..... It was sad. Like I've mentioned a few times, I'm not a very religious person yet when it comes to the Pope, I always felt he was a decent guy. It must have been my grandma's influence on me. See, for as long as I can remember, my grandma was all about God & the Pope. She was a VERY religious woman. Went to church quite often and to this day (in honor of her), I have a Jesus clip & Rosary she gave me to keep in my car while I drive. 

Anyways, let's actually go back a little further to about '99-'00..... I was hanging out with friends that introduced me to their friends and it was this big o' group of us. Since I lived in Orange County & these friends of mine lived in San Diego County, whenever I would visit, everyone would make a big deal about it. Well, I guess one of the girls who was a friend of a friend got irked and actually said, "Who does she think she is, the Pope?!" At first, I was a lil' perturbed yet when everything was going on with Pope John Paul II, I was finding out all sorts of things about him & he wasn't all that bad. Actually, after I found out a particular story, he wasn't bad at all.....

It was April 2nd & the Pope has now passed away. All I could think about was how my grandma was going to take it, especially since she had been sick for awhile and the doctors had said she didnt have that much more time left...... There was no way to hide it from her since it was all over the TV...... She was in the hospital at the time of his death so my mom & I went to visit her. We walked in and she seemed fine. The TV was on and she was watching all the coverage. So we were just talking & whatnot and then I remembered that she went to the Vatican like 15 years ago. Then my mom could have sworned that my grandma met the Pope. Well, all we had to do was put our stories together cuz my grandma met the Pope at the Vatican! Here's what she told us that day, 3 years ago:

When she went to the Vatican, the Pope was there and greeting people inside. I'm not sure if someone pushed her, fainted or was overwhelmed but she fell & hit her head. When she got up, she looked and there was the Pope. He then walked up to her & rubbed her head and said, "Aww". Then went on his way. I found that story out 6 days before she passed away. She passed away, appropriately, during the Pope's funeral. 

I just found that to be such a great story and I thought I would share it. It's something I know I'll always remember. 

me =)