Like St Francis Who Kissed A Leper, Pope Francis is Kissing A Horribly Disfigured Man .God Loves You, Jesus Loves You, And Francis Loves You.
Disfigured man embraced by Pope: ‘I felt only love’
By Daniel Burke and Livia Borghese, CNN
Rome (CNN) – The photo roused emotions and sparked conversations around the world – but the man at the center of the image says the moment left him speechless.
“I tried to speak, to tell him something, but I couldn’t: The emotion was too strong,” says Vinicio Riva, the disfigured man embraced by Pope Francis in images that went viral.
“It all lasted not more than a minute, but it seemed an eternity,” Riva told the Italian magazine Panorama this weekend.
Riva, whose body is covered with tumors due to a rare disease, said his unusual appearance has led to a lifetime of living on the margins.
That is, until he showed up at St. Peter’s Square on November 6.
Riva went to Rome on the advice of a friend with whom he travels to Lourdes, the Catholic shrine in France visited by thousands of ailing and infirm pilgrims each year.
After meeting Francis, Riva said he kissed the Pope’s hand. Then the Pope pulled Riva toward him, hugging the 53-year-old Italian and kissing his face.
MORE ON CNN: Why the Pope’s embrace is so powerful
Riva, who lives in Vicenza in northern Italy, said he suffers from neurofibromatosis Type 1, which causes painful tumors to grow throughout his body. His younger sister and late mother also suffered from the rare disease, Riva told Panorama.
The first signs of the disease began when he was 15, Riva said, and since then, he has often felt ostracized because of his unusual appearance.
But the Pope showed no sign of discomfort as he approached, said Riva. Instead, the pontiff’s face broke into a calm smile.
“But what most astonished me is that he didn’t think twice on embracing me,” Riva said. “I’m not contagious, but he didn’t know. He just did it; he caressed all my face, and while he was doing that, I felt only love.”
a wolf is pretending to be a sheep.
I love this man of God. he is so humble.
While dats great love 4rm the highest service of God.Pope Francis…..that really takes great love & humility…..Amen.
This is practicing what one really preaches…living by example, God Bless our dearest Pope
To Love the unlovely is true loving
We love you too. How are you?
this is true show of christianity
a hand-pa from Christ.
A must see and must share … plz spread the good word
Yaa lets see the face of jesus
This is a sign of true love from God
True luv displayed. Wsh ol men of God can emulate tht. Bangakhetsi for ol ppl are da same b4 God. Respect for da human dignity
After viewing the photo I had tears running, God bless us all.
This world needs all the love it can get. Especially the kind Pope Francis & Mother Theresa give so generously.
praise the lord n heal this man
Respect, Respect, Respect…………………………Respect for our Pope!!
No child of God is horribly disfigured…….a better term could be used with post that go viral……Pope France is spirited by God’s Grace and I’m sure He would like such a term used for God’s child. External illness can be termed what about internal disfigure many suffer that can’t be seen. The victim is already traumatized by his illness please don’t depress him further by your uncalled for adjectives.
Thanks for the observation, but no offence was intended by the title, we were only trying to give accurate description of the physical defects. That much is obvious. Thanks for your concern and your points are well taken.