By Evan Walsh
Contributing Writer
SHREWSBURY – The world has been mourning Pope Francis’ death since his passing on April 21. A Shrewsbury resident remembers him fondly.
Frank Masiello and his wife, Ann, met Pope Francis during a trip to the Vatican City in 2018. After coordinating with local religious leaders, the Masiellos celebrated Mass in the front row of St. Peter’s Basilica, with just a small railing between them and Pope Francis. As the pope greeted crowds after the Mass, he shook hands with Frank, took time to speak with him, and hugged Ann.
“As everybody else says, he was a ‘people pope.’ He was very nice,” said Frank.
Photo/Courtesy
Then, after some conversation and laughter – Pope Francis jokingly called Frank a “bad boy” – Ann handed the pope a small medallion. The Masiellos’ son, Daniel, had died in 2014, and the family had spent its trip to Italy visiting landmarks, placing medallions with Daniel’s name in different historic nooks and crannies. Ann placed one of those medallions in the outstretched palm of Pope Francis.
“For me?” he said, putting the medallion in his coat pocket.
It was reassuring, the couple later told the Catholic Free Press, to know their son was being watched over.
And it wasn’t the only moment from the trip to Vatican City the Masiellos hold close to their hearts.
“Where we were sitting, the front-row seats, there was a railing. I went back the next day and I looked all over, and I couldn’t find any letters on the ground. Right in front of my wife’s chair, we looked down on the ground. There was old, yellow paint, and there were my wife’s initials – A.M.,” said Frank. “There was nothing else that had any initials on the ground, but there were our letters.”
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, or Pope Francis, was introduced on March 13, 2013, as the 266th pope. He was the first Latin American pontiff, and known for his large heart. He made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday — a day before his death — to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, drawing wild cheers and applause, according to the Associated Press.
On May 8, Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native who most recently served as Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, was elected as Pope Francis’ successor. The first American pope in history, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
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