Billy and Francis

By Nancy Kriz
NEW YORK — Talk about an unforgettable day, a day so spectacular that it will be remembered for a lifetime and perhaps a generation beyond.

As millions of people continue to retell their stories of seeing Pope Francis in New York last week, only a few lucky ones like Monroe resident William "Billy " O'Connor IV can say they actually met the pontiff, received his blessing and given papal rosary beads as a memento of the encounter.

Waiting for the popeThat's exactly what happened to the Monroe-Woodbury sixth-grader, who, as good fortune would have it, was among a group of children and adults waiting near the official residence of the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, less than a block from Central Park.

They were hopeful to simply get a glimpse of the pope, so they could say they were in the pontiff's presence, no matter how far that distance was, no matter how short those seconds were.

It turned out to be so much more.

As the pope was returning from his visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels school and heading to the Papal Processional in Central Park, his next event, he stopped back the apostolic nuncio residence.

The group, which had been waiting for more than three hours in that spot, couldn't believe their luck.

The stop apparently was a quick one, as the schedule called for a 5 p.m. start time in Central Park, and the pope was already late.

As he re-emerged from the residence to get into the Fiat which would take him the short distance to Central Park, the group screamed with delight. Billy said Pope Francis saw them and waved to them.

Then, he walked over to the group.

"He didn't really talk, he just blessed every kid," said Billy. "He handed out rosaries. I had rosaries I wanted him to bless, but it really didn't matter."

Billy wanted to present the pope with a challenge coin from his aunt. When the pope saw it, he instead blessed it and returned it to the boy.

And the chance meeting ended as quickly as it began, with the pontiff giving William a blessing and kiss on the head, before walking to his Fiat and Central Park where he knew 90,000 people had been waiting for him for hours.

Meanwhile in Central ParkMeg O'Connor, Billy's mother, didn't know any of this happened until she got a cell phone call from her sister.

"My sister called and she was crying," O'Connor said. "She told me what happened. It was very emotional. Friends of hers were around and got the photos."

Billy described the experience as a "blessed, fun, cool, awesome and amazing one."

"I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, I just met the pope and he's really cool and he was really nice to me,'" said Billy. "He had a smile when he was blessing all the kids. He had a smile when I was talking to him. He seemed like a really nice person. I felt really touched that I was able to meet him."

O'Connor said while she was waiting among the masses of people in the park, she befriended a woman who told her she was currently undergoing chemotherapy. When O'Connor's sister's friend texted the photos, she showed her new friend in happy, but still disbelief.

When Billy finally arrived at the park to join her, O'Connor said, the lady went to Billy and hugged him tightly, telling them both "she was hoping that the goodness of the pope and pope's blessing would come through to her. Everyone was just so happy, as I was, to see William and the photos."

In a New York City secondThe crowds in the park were so staggeringly huge that O'Connor or Billy didn't see the pope as he passed by as they was too short.

It didn't matter.
"He went by quickly but nobody cared," she said. "They (people in the park) weren't bummed out because it (the motorcade) was so fast. You could feel the faith. I don't care if you were Catholic or not, you could feel it. I've never been in that kind of environment."

To say it was a fantastic day for Billy and his mother is an understatement.

"When things like this happen, you tend to think about your loved ones," said O'Connor, her voice willing with emotion. "I had a close relationship with my mom, but she's gone now. I thought of my mother, how proud she would be to know William was blessed by the pope. My mom was a very devout Catholic, I know she was watching this."

'... I could'Billy felt similarly, adding: "I really thought of Nana and how she would be so proud of me. She loved going to Mass and learning about God. If she were alive, she'd be so happy. She'd have tears of joy."

He also knew he'd have a really, really good story to share with his Sacred Heart CCD class.

"I was really happy that I could get to meet him," added Billy, apparently still feeling the pope's aura around him. "I feel like I could become the next pope. Maybe if go to Mass more, I could."