Losing someone we love is a terribly difficult thing to process and go through . When we lose a family member or someone who is close to us, it can be very hard to get through the days and months without them since they have gone. Even as adults, we struggle with grief and loss in our everyday lives. It can be something that we cannot quite comprehend.
When children lose someone close to them, they have a hard time processing it.
We as adults can barely handle death when it happens, especially when it’s so sudden. So for a child, who is still trying to learn what it means to live, to learn about death can be quite traumatizing.
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Some children ask adults about their late relatives.
When it comes to death, it obviously makes sense that a kid will have questions. So who will they go to when they want to ask them? An adult.
But it’s not often that the adult in question is the Pope.
In April 2018, Pope Francis was visiting the St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Rome and met some of the children there. He took time out for the children to ask him questions.
One boy, Emanuele, walked up to the microphone to ask the Pope a question.
When he got up to the mic, it was clear the boy was very nervous and scared. He even began to cry when he was trying to speak.
He was too nervous to ask.
The Pope saw that Emanuele was very nervous and did not want to ask or speak in front of so many people, so he motioned for him to come up and whisper his question into his ear.
Emanuele went up to the Pope.
In a long moment between the two, Emanuele asked the Pope his question. It was about his late father, who had passed away. Emanuele wanted to know if his father was in Heaven.
The Pope then spoke with Emanuele, before he returned back to his seat.
When he sat back down, the Pope shared the story with the rest of those who were there watching him. He asked Emanuele permission to share his story with the crowd .
Emanuele said that his father was a “nonbeliever.”
He said that his father was someone who did not believe, but he had all four of his children baptized. But, because he was a nonbeliever, he wanted to know if his father was in Heaven or not.
The Pope shared that only God chooses who is in Heaven.
Although Emanuele may have wanted to know exactly if the Pope allowed his dad into Heaven, he explained that God is the one who makes the decisions about who goes where.
However, he said that with a father like Emanuele’s, it’s clear.
Although Emanuele’s father himself was not a believer, he still made sure to baptize all four of his own children so that they can be members of the church.
The Pope said with a dad like that, there is no mistaking that he is where he should be.
The Pope shared further that God does not “abandon” his children. And, that God always does the right thing. So, with tears in his eyes, Emanuele’s question surely was answered.
Whether you believe or not, you can’t deny that this is just a sweet story.
