Mayo woman recalls happy and poignant memories of meeting Pope Francis

It was a wedding anniversary with a difference for Edith Geraghty and her husband Seamus in 2015 when they were granted a private audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

The death of Pope Francis on Monday morning brought back poignant memories for Belmullet woman Edith as she recalled meeting with the late Pontiff while in Rome celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary.

Her late husband Seamus had organised the trip to Rome and let friends who lived in Rome know they would be arriving. One thing led to another and with friends in high places in the Eternal City, Edith and Seamus were informed they were granted an audience with Pope Francis who was interested in Edith's role with the No Name Club.

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“It was a private audience and it was about 15 minutes long and Pope Francis was very interested in my work through the No Name Club. He was always interested in young people and what he called the charisma of people who are called to work among young people. He thought that was really important and builds on what we all know through research that if a person has access to one good adult in their teenage lives it can make a huge difference.

“He was very interested in young people in general and how important they are in their formation as human beings. In the way you work with them in the No Name Club, the young people run the club and the adults help supervise that. We do it in an alcohol and drug free setting while at the same time educating them about alcohol.

Blessing

“That was the focus of the visit and he also blessed us for our 25th wedding anniversary. It is very poignant looking back as it was Seamus' idea to go to Rome for our 25th wedding anniversary and he died shortly after our 30th anniversary. It brought back a lot of good memories,” she said.

Edith, who lives in Belmullet, and was a Programme Officer with the No Name Club in Ireland, said they also attended a special Mass in the Sistine Chapel which she described as 'an amazing experience'.

She was also a guest on Vatican Radio to speak of her work with the No Name Club and she feels this shows that the late Pope had a great interest in helping young people.

“The fascinating thing about Vatican Radio is it is literally the voice of the Pope. It belongs to whatever Pope that is there and it is his message which is carried strongly.

“It was one of life's experiences to meet him and I could see how concerned he was with young people today and he felt that they could lose their way very easily. He was very supportive of anything which could support them. He was interested in what we were saying and wished us well in our work.

Surreal experience

“It was a surreal experience afterwards because I remember myself and Seamus saying d'id that actually happen'?. I didn't think I would ever meet a Pope but it happened and it was a surreal experience.”

Like most people, Edith said she was shocked to hear Pope Francis died and believes the legacy of his pontificate will be fondly remembered.

“I was really impacted this morning when I turned on the news and heard he died. It was a shock to hear that he had died but I think he would have died happy knowing he gave his final 'Urbi Et Orbi' and called for peace. What a greater and lasting message to leave but a call for peace,” she said.