Yes, but it has a good bit of grey in it now.
Here is how we came to meet the Pope:
We traveled as a community to Assisi then Rome. The morning of our visit to the Vatican, then Brother [now Father] Bob Stannion- a sort of Rennaisance friar, iconographer, gourmet cook, lover of Byzantine and Armenian liturgy, and a Friar Tuck look-alike- woke up and told us that he had had a dream that we would meet the Pope. "Yeah, right", we said, knowing the odds of that. "No, really, you'll see; there will be a group of African bishops nearby."
Well the downside of Franciscan spontanaeity is Franciscan disorganization, so we were late getting to St Peter's Square and found ourselves on the outer edge of a vast throng.
"Well Bob, what about that dream?," we teased.
"You'll see", he said, nonplussed.
A few minutes passed and one of the brothers nudgeed me. "Hey, those guys are pointing at you."
I looked over, and sure enough, two young Swiss Guards were pointing at me and then at
the statue of St Peter [
answers.com]
in the Square.
"San Pietro! San Pietro!", they were saying.
I had to admit, there was a resemblance.
They gestured to us to follow them. The crowd parted like the Red Sea before them and they led us right to the front of the pathway the Holy Father would be coming down.
On the other side was a group of African bishops.
Brother Bob beamed, and soon the Pope made his way toward us.
The photo was taken as Fr Benedict, the Servant of the community explained who we were - a new Reform community of Capuchins.
A moment later, the Pope gave us his blessing, and another moment later those of us in the front kissed his ring...
-Daniel
...
