Mother Frances arrives at the Vatican
for the private audience with the Pope
Rosary that Pope Paul presented to Mother Frances
Mother Frances arrives at the Vatican
for the private audience with the Pope
Rosary that Pope Paul presented to Mother Frances
May 2, 1976 - Private Audience with Pope Paul VI
On the same day as the beatification of Leopold Mandic, Mother Frances met with Pope Paul VI for a private audience at the Vatican. The Pope was quite pleased to meet with Mother Frances. “You are a special woman,” he said, and went on to share many difficulties that he faced.
Pope Paul VI told Mother Frances that He was surrounded by traitors, and that he had been betrayed by the very men who sat at the same table with him to break bread. The Pope presented Mother Frances with a Rosary.
The photo taken moments before Mother Frances spoke to Pope Paul VI was obtained by Saint Joseph’s Hill of Hope in 2017, more than four decades after the papal audience. It is customary after a private audience to offer each visitor a keepsake photograph taken with His Holiness. However, Vatican officials withheld the official photograph taken when Mother Frances met the Pope.
