When Pope Leo XIV began walking toward me, I didn’t think “This is the Pope.” I…

When Pope Leo XIV began walking toward me, I didn’t think “This is the Pope.” I felt something deeper—something I still don’t have words for. In those few seconds before he placed his hands on my head… I felt like I had never lost God’s love. That His blessing had been holding me all this time. That this man of God was part of my family. That I was home. And that someone was finally telling my heart: “I see you. I’ve been walking with you.” When my husband kissed his hand… I felt our marriage being blessed, healed, renewed. I looked around and saw tears. But what undid me… Was hearing my children crying—screaming—with emotion, because they too felt the beauty and the presence of heaven. As a paraplegic… as a mother of five… this moment wasn’t just for me. It was for all of us. And now, as a Catholic speaker, I will carry this flame everywhere I go. Hope is alive. 💜 Thank you, Leo… for walking slowly enough to find us. For blessing those who often feel unseen. For loving families, and for showing us that heaven is not far. 📍 PaulaSpeaker.com