Pope’s visit to Catholic Charities meal seen as sign of hope for the poor

Benedict Zama looked out from her table and Pope Francis was coming towards her moments after he arrived at the St Maria’s Meal programme of Catholic Charities of the Washington Archdiocese.

Oct 01, 2015

Girl hugs Pope Francis as he visits St Maria’s Meals Programme of Catholic Charities in Washington. pic/CNS

WASHINGTON: Benedict Zama looked out from her table and Pope Francis was coming towards her moments after he arrived at the St Maria’s Meal programme of Catholic Charities of the Washington Archdiocese.

“Hello,” she said in her native French, extending her right hand. “Welcome. How are you?” “It’s going well,” Zama said the Pope responded, also in French.

That’s when her son, Ezekiel, 7, walked up the Pope, hugged him and shook his hand.

“It felt good,” Ezekiel said after the encounter.

Zama, a native of the Central African Republic and client of the Catholic Charities’ Family Re-Housing and Family Stabilization programme, said she was surprised and pleased to meet the Pope. “I am glad,” she said.

The Pope’s visit lasted about 15 minutes and he was unable to sit down for lunch in the makeshift dining centre set up under a tent in front of Catholic Charities headquarters in downtown Washington.

Many of the 500 invitees swarmed the Pope after he said a brief prayer over the food, wished the mixture of Catholic Charities clients, volunteers and staff buen apetito and stepped into the tent.

He walked slowly through the crowd accompanied by at least five security agents, smiling, shaking hands and exchanging brief greetings. He stopped at several points, including once to address one of the security agents.

Although short, the visit left a lifetime of memories, especially for those who got to meet him.

Alan Lockett, 53, a resident of the Adam’s Place shelter Catholic Charities operates, showed off the photo he took of the Pope with his smartphone and posted on Facebook. The 23-year retired Navy veteran said he never thought he’d “get this close” to the Pope.

“He put his palm in my palm,” Lockett said. “He held it for five seconds. It seemed like an hour.”

Juan Pablo Segura, 27, a volunteer with the meal programme, said he invited Pope Francis to stay for lunch, but the pontiff declined, saying he had to leave.

“But he said to enjoy lunch. He asked me to pray for him,” Segura said.

Prior to the Pope’s arrival, a festive atmosphere enshrouded the tent, where 55 tables had been set up for people. People mingled and walked from table to table, sharing their excitement about the Pope’s visit.

Robert Lee Grant Jr sat at a table the Pope passed. He said he shook the pontiff’s hand, never thinking he would ever meet any pope, let alone one who places the needs of poor and homeless people foremost. Given life’s challenges — Grant said he has been shot, stabbed, hit several times by a car and was injured at a construction site when a cement block fell 18 feet and hit his head — meeting the Pope was especially memorable.

“I’m a religious man anyway and anything that is lifting up God, I have to be there,” he told CNS prior to the Pope’s visit. “I’ve been saved by a lot myself. Just glad to be around.”-- CNS

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