As the world mourns the death of Pope Francis, a Maryland woman relives the opportunity of a lifetime she experienced as a preteen: welcoming the pontiff to the United States during his visit in 2015.
Silver Spring native Jocelyn Aquino was only 12 years old when her teachers at Sacred Heart Catholic School elected her to be a part of the welcoming entourage when the pope arrived at Andrews Air Force Base.
“To even be picked, to have this moment, to me, it’s such a big blessing, and it’s such an honor,” she said.
Aquino, 22, told WTOP she never found out why her teachers nominated her but was ready for the task with one goal in mind: speaking to the pontiff in his native language.
“Knowing that he was the first Latin American Pope, I knew that it would be very special to speak in Spanish, in our native language,” she said. Aquino, whose family is from El Salvador, spoke Spanish as well.
When Sept. 22, 2015 came around, Aquino arrived to the base, meeting then President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and the other three students participating in the welcoming. The president and first lady attempted to keep all the students relaxed in a waiting room until the pope’s plane landed.
The group was then escorted to the runway, where, Aquino saw the base filled with people in bleachers while military members from the U.S. and the Vatican stood by the plane by a red carpet. The students stood at the end of the carpet watching all the attention the pope garnered without him even leaving his plane yet.
“I see all the cameras. I see all the Secret Service,” she said. “I see all these people. And I’m like, I’m starting to now realize what is going on, but more of like, ‘Whoa. This is really huge.'”
Once Pope Francis began to exit the plane, he walked down the stairs and greeted the Obama family. As he began to walk toward the students, Aquino prepared to speak in Spanish:
“Bienvenidos a los Estados Unidos,” Aquino said, translated to “Welcome to the United States.”
“Gracias. que dios lo bendiga,” Francis said, translated to “Thank you and god bless you.”
Aquino handed a bouquet of flowers she had to a younger student standing next to her, who then handed them to Pope Francis.
The rest of the encounter was a blur. But Aquino said she wouldn’t change a thing.
“I think how everything played out, and how I was able to handle the situation, I really loved it,” she said.
Since Pope Francis’ death, Aquino has reflected on that encounter multiple times. She recently learned her mother had tickets to attend one of his U.S. services but chose to give them to someone else to experience. Had she gone to one of the services instead, Aquino would have missed her quick chat with the pope.
While she won’t be able to be together with her family to watch Pope Francis’ funeral, as she prepares for her finals and graduation at the University of Miami, Aquino said she will observe the service.
The event will be historic but a “big loss” for Catholics around the world, she said, calling Francis a one of a kind person.
“He was such a humble pope,” Aquino said. “He cared for those in need, and I think that he brought unity to the Catholic Church.”
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