Veronica López and her family represented Hispanic families in Region V of the United States in the First Hispanic/Latin American Encounter of Families. She is an associate for the Office of Hispanic Ministry.
The pope’s visit was truly a blessing and a great lesson, because the joy and love with which the pope encouraged us to be courageous, to form united families generous in Christ, and to be merciful, left a large inspiration in our lives.
My mom was happy to know that the presence of Hispanics is increasing, that our voice is being heard and that we can be part of the processes (V Meeting, Pastoral of the CELAM, etc.) that are marking history to form and grow families well-grounded, in culture within our Catholic faith that we can pass down from generation to generation.”
The presence of the pope also left an important footprint on my dad, because for him this experience is unforgettable and unique. The most important thing for him was to share it with his wife, daughter and his grandson, and also to share it with a group of brothers in Christ, which made this experience something that can be very difficult to live it again.
For me, personally, to have listened to speeches from people so humble and filled with the love of God, to have shared with other families from the southeast, making new friends and above all to see Pope Francisco so close twice, left me a footprint that will change the history of my life.
I have always known that God had an important mission for me when he gave me a second chance to live, and seeing Pope Francis, I felt the presence of God, telling me, “Here I am.”
Despite my son’s young age, I am sure he will never forget this. He shares with everybody what he felt when he saw the pope: “the Pope saw me, greeted me and blessed me. He gave me his blessing and smiled at me, it was amazing.”