VATICAN CORNER
On Wednesday April 6, 2016, at his general audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis met and blessed Lizzy Myers a five year old girl from Bellville, Ohio who is suffering from a rare genetic disorder called Usher Syndrome Type II, which causes the gradual loss of vision and hearing. She already wears a hearing aid, adjusting to it well, and as she approaches the age between 10 to 13, she will probably go blind, but her parents have not yet explained this to her. When she was first diagnosed, her parent Steve and Christine Myers, decided to make a “visual bucket list” of things in the world they would try to help Lizzy see before she starts to lose her sight. One of the first items on the list was a trip to a nearby observatory where she looked through the giant telescope at the moon, stars and meteors. Someone from the observatory invited a journalist to the occasion and it was not long before Lizzy’s story was all over the news. Her parents began receiving offers to help them show Lizzy much more, and Turkish Airlines offered a trip to anywhere in the world for a two-week vacation. The Myers chose Rome shooting for seeing Pope Francis if possible, and because of its rich visuals in artwork, big buildings and sculptures. Many people both in Ohio and around the world moved by the Myers’ story began setting up the trip and the Italian charity U.N.I.T.A.LS.I. invited them to the Vatican. Steve Myers said Lizzy was “enthralled” by everything she saw in Rome including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. He described how she sat and stared at the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The Myers were secretly wishing for more than an audience with the Pope. “We were hoping for a miracle,“ Steve Myer said. Lizzy was initially caught up in the excitement of the Pope’s traditional arrival at the Wednesday general audience. She enthusiastically waved the gift she brought for Pope Francis, a tiny piece of precious meteorite, but seemed a little perplexed that he did not respond immediately. Then, like any 5-year-old, she became restless during the Pope’s address, even a little bored. But that special moment did eventually arrive when Pope Francis hugged and kissed Lizzy, then touched her face and laid his hands over her eyes. Lizzy handed him the small meteorite and he thanked her and told her parents he will pray for their family, and asked them to pray for him as well. Awestruck, Steve Myers said he was nervous beforehand, but a sense of calmness came over him as the Pope blessed his daughter. Christine Myers described it as “the first time she had felt an overwhelming sense of peace” since the diagnosis of their daughter’s illness. Lizzy’s parents are making sure that she has lifelong memories to recall when she can no longer see. A trip to Wyoming is next on the “bucket list”, but not everything involves travel. Normal activities are included like picking flowers, marveling at a rainbow, catching fireflies at night, blowing bubbles, and flying a kite.
Sources: news.va, cbsnews.com, cruxnow.com, nbc4i.com.