Our faithful reader Grace had the great blessing of being able to see Pope Francis in New York City! She emailed me with her impressions, and some photos:

“Hi Kate!!    

I just thought that you would like to hear about my experience seeing Pope Francis today! First off, I’ve never felt so blessed to wait 4 hours in line to see someone. I would do it again right now even though my feet are killing me. I have to say, one of the best moments happened before Pope Francis drove by. I ended up talking to some strangers in the crowd, which is something I NEVER do and I met one of the most amazing women ever. Her name is Margaret Therese and my word, she is just a woman of God. She just shines this light to you when she talks. She told us about an experience she had when she truly felt the presence of God and it brought me straight to tears. I just want to be her when I’m older. She ended up giving me a medal that was blessed by Pope John Paul II. I don’t think I’m ever taking it off from the chain around my neck (I’ve attached a picture). When Pope Francis finally drove by, my heart stopped. I started crying immediately. I was far away, as you can see in the pictures, but that didn’t matter. This was one of the most amazing moments of my life. My goodness, the light of God that shines through Pope Francis is just crazy. I still can’t believe that I was so blessed to get to see him while he was here in America and get to see surrounded by such amazing people!

God bless you, 

Grace“

Can’t you just hear it? The enthusiasm, the love, the grace that’s so often the marker of pilgrimages, holy events, or other similar encounters with, as Grace said, “the light of God” shining through. If there’s a thin veil that separates us, it’s almost as if it’s made extra-sheer in those places, with those people. I’m moved to tears myself for Grace, for her experience.

Check out her pictures:

Thanks to Grace for sharing her experience and her pictures with us, and if any of the rest of you were in DC, NYC, or today/tomorrow in Philly and have experiences and/or photos to share regarding Pope Francis’ visit, feel free to send them on to me!