Roughly eight months into his papacy, Pope Francis greeted a crowd of pilgrims who had journeyed to the Vatican and were eager to meet him. Among those pilgrims was Father Michael Nimocks, a priest from the Diocese of Columbus.
Father Nimocks participated in a November 2013 pilgrimage to Rome. He was accompanied by his sister and brother-in-law and others from the diocese. The pilgrims were eager to meet the pontiff, who had been elected earlier that year.
“It was a thrill that I thought that I would never have had,” Father Nimocks said. “To see someone in pictures and then to actually be in their presence – it’s a great thrill.”
Father Nimocks recalled previously seeing Pope St. John Paul II, who served as pope from 1978 to 2005, while on pilgrimage. He also participated in a diocesan retreat in Rome in 1975 when Pope St. Paul VI canonized the first American-born saint, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
This time, however, was different. Unlike his previous two pope observations, the 2013 pilgrimage was the first time Father Nimocks came in contact with a pope – specifically, he shook Pope Francis’ hand.
The pilgrimage, while exciting, also showed a glimpse into the heart of the Holy Father and a characteristic that would define much of his papacy: concern for the marginalized and suffering.
Pope Francis’ concern was particularly evident through his interaction with a man by the name of Bill, who was part of Father Nimocks’ pilgrimage group. The Columbus pilgrims had combined with a small group from New York City.
Bill, a New York cab driver, had been previously shot in a robbery. The shooting left him crippled and needing two canes to walk.
During the pilgrimage, Father Nimocks stayed close to Bill’s side, helping him navigate and stay with the group. On the penultimate day of the pilgrimage, the group attended an audience with the Pope. To participate, Bill needed a wheelchair, and Father Nimocks was asked to push him.
The two were separated from their pilgrimage group and directed to the bottom steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, where sick and injured individuals using wheelchairs and walkers were divided in two lines. The popemobile drove between the two rows of pilgrims before Pope Francis emerged and ascended the steps of St. Peter’s to give his audience.
After a blessing from the Pope, the space between the rows of sick and injured pilgrims was widened.
“I thought that they were making room for the popemobile to go one more time by, but what Francis did was he walked down the steps of St. Peter’s and started on the far left side, and he greeted each one of the sick people and injured people who were there to see him,” Father Nimocks recalled.
“About 20 minutes after he started, he was standing in front of Bill and me, and Bill was kissing his hands, and he reached over – because I was standing behind Bill – and shook my hand, and I said he was in my prayers, but it just showed how much compassion he had for those who were sick, and the folks who were there were thrilled, to say the least, that he took that time.”
The brief interaction with the Holy Father is how Father Nimocks remembered Pope Francis nearly 12 years later and will remember his papacy.
“He really lived the Gospel of being concerned for the poor and the sick,” the priest said.
Father Michael Nimocks is a retired diocesan priest and resides at the Villas at St. Therese in Columbus.