Courtney McGrailPope Francis has brought some early Christmas cheer to a Co. Meath schoolboy who wrote to the Pontiff, seeking a hug when he visits Ireland in 2018.
Six-year-old Ethan Toner was prompted to pen his letter when, on returning to a new term at St Dympna’s NS in Kildalkey, he felt unsettled and visited the school’s reflection area where he met staff member Pauline Cogavin.
“I had just returned from a visit to Rome and showed Ethan a picture of me standing very near the Pope as he gave a little child a hug,” Ms Cogavin explained. “He said that it was lovely and that he’d love to give the Pope a hug himself.”
‘Friendly Pope’
Fascinated now by the ‘friendly Pope’, Ethan put pen to paper detailing how, Ms Cogavin explained “that when he gets afraid or worried, he thinks of Pope Francis and feels safe and happy again. He also wrote that the Pope had a special place in his room where he said a prayer each day and that he hoped one day he would get to give him a big hug.”
Entrusted to the care of Ms Cogavin as she undertook a return trip to Rome in November, no more was thought about the special message until a letter bearing Ethan’s name and the Vatican seal arrived at St Dympna’s.
In a letter signed by Monsignor Paolo Borgia in the Secretariat of State, Ethan was assured that Pope Francis “is glad to hear that you turn to the Lord in your needs. His Holiness sends warm wishes to you, your family and your teachers and prays that you will grow in friendship with Jesus Christ our Lord and be filled with the gifts of joy and peace. I am sending a medal blessed by the Holy Father for you.”
For his part, Ethan has said of his ‘papal pen-pal’: “I knew he’d write to me. I might get to give him a hug because he read my letter.”