That’s why it was so shocking when someone recently approached Pope Francis in the middle of his sermon, boldly standing right in front of him! However, before you take a pitchfork in defense of his holiness, read on.
Clelia Manfelotti from Naples, Italy is a charming little girl who is always smiling and full of life. However, Clelia reports on autism in The Catholic Register, which means understanding social cues and etiquette can be a challenge for her
When Pope Francis delivered one of his last sermons, Clelia was bored. In the blink of an eye, the adventurous little girl rushed to her mother’s side, ran to the stage. A security guard noticed her but backtracked on her arrest, unsure how his superiors wanted him to handle the situation.
The guard’s hesitation gave Clelia the opportunity to step onto the stage. Another guard moved to grab him, but the pope himself chased him away.
“Leave her,” said Pope Francis. So be it. So be it. God speaks through children.
Pope Francis continued to give his sermon as Clelia stood before him. The young girl quickly lost interest in the one-sided staring contest and instead decided to start dancing around the stage, delighted with her picture on the big spotlight.
His Holiness eventually acknowledged Clelia’s presence at his sermons as she danced around him. Pope Francis told his followers, “[We all see] this beautiful girl. She is beautiful. [This] poor girl [is] the victim of an illness and does not know what she is doing.
He followed up with a post that highlighted what we can all learn from Clelia’s dance. Everyone’s first instinct was to pull her off the stage, but that wasn’t the nicest thing. Instead, we should all ask ourselves whether or not we pray for children like her and whether or not we do all we can to help them be happy.
