Unforgettable Moments Part 4

It was in November 1996 that I, alongwith four of my colleagues went to Italy and London on a week's business cum sightseeing trip.

We first went to Rome on 2nd Nov and spent the day going around Rome , On 3rd morning, we went to Vatican , the headquaeters of Roman Catholics. We were told that the Pope ( Pope John Paul II at that time ) would address the public once a week from atop the Vatican church , and only during that time, one can have a glimpse of Pope ( from a distance of about 50 meters - the distance between the ground level and the window from where the Pope would deliver His address )

As that day was not a speech day , we cursed our ill luck and were going around inside the huge and beautiful Vatican church marvelling at the amazing paintings and the wonderful architecture.

Then all of a sudden, some staff of the church came to us ( we, the visitors, were about 50 in that hall at that time ) and asked us to stand aside . We were also requested to remain there and keep silence for a few minutes. We could easily guess that a VIP was going to come that way and even as we were wondering who would be this VIP,there appeared the Majestic Pope John Paul II alongwith some priests and as He slowly walked past us, I could have a clear view of Him for more than 30 seconds .I was thrilled that the Pope was only about 3' feet from me when He crossed me. As He walked, He blessed us all.

Later on we came to know that The Pope had wanted to visit a room on the other side to look at some records and that such visits by The Pope are very rare. We were indeed very fortunate that He decided to visit that room on that day and that too when we were there.

I consider this a wonderfully lucky moment which I cannot forget in my life.

Sugavanam