LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Geertz family will take vacations in the future, but the one they just returned from is going to be impossible to top.
“I met the Pope and shook his hand, he asked me my name and said, ‘nice to meet you,’” Ethan Geertz said just hours after the news broke that Pope Francis died at the age of 88.
The Pope had just been released from the hospital when the Geertz family visited Italy and began to tour St. Peter’s Basilica. They had no idea what was about to happen.
“To have him stop in front of us, and meet our child, it's not something in a lifetime that you think you would experience,” Ethan’s mother, Melissa said, adding that Ethan joked about taking a selfie with the Pope before they left for Italy.
The Pontiff came to see visitors, stopping at the end of the line to meet the Lexington third grader. It's an experience Ethan will likely remember for the rest of his life.
“Probably will, it was pretty cool,” he said.
For Ethan's parents, it was so much more.
“We were both sad when we found out, [of the Pope’s passing] but it further highlighted how special the moment we were able to have with the Pope,” Melissa said. “It was a surreal moment. It was special to have one of those last moments with him. To see Pope Francis in-person, and have him stop and meet our child, it’s not something you would think in a lifetime you’d experience."
Ethan only needed to move into third grade to experience that. He said his teachers at his Catholic school are all wanting to shake his hand; the hand he used to shake hands with the Pope.
