Pope Francis\u2019 penchant for calling people out of the blue is already the stuff of legend, and the \u201ccold call pope\u201d was back at it again recently, stunning a sick Italian seminarian with a call to promise prayers and to urge him not to lose hope.<\/p>\n
The call to Antonio Esposito came on March 18 at 4:00 p.m., according to the regional Italian newspaper Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno<\/em>. According to the report, Esposito answered his phone and was astonished to hear the pope on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n\u201cHi Antonio, good afternoon, sorry if I\u2019m bothering you, but it\u2019s Pope Francis,\u201d Esposito reported hearing. \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
As often happens in these cases, Esposito said at first he thought the call was a prank. Quickly, however, he realized that very few people actually have the number Francis was calling, and that, plus the familiar-sounding voice, confirmed it was actually the pontiff.<\/p>\n
Esposito, 22, is studying for the priesthood for the diocese of Conversano-Monopoli, and is attending a regional Pontifical Seminary in the Italian city of Molfetta. He\u2019s in his last year of studies, having already been ordained a deacon, and is currently battling an unidentified illness.<\/p>\n
According to Esposito, the pope became aware of his illness after Esposito went to the Vatican pharmacy in early March to pick up medicines needed for his treatment. Somehow word got back to Francis that a seminarian was sick, and he decided to call to express his support.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that you\u2019re a good seminarian,\u201d Esposito reported the pope saying, \u201cthat you\u2019re committed to your studies and that you\u2019re fighting this illness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to tell you to keep your chin up, because the Lord is always with you and I will always pray for you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read more.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Crux:\u00a0 Pope Francis\u2019 penchant for calling people out of the blue is already the stuff of legend, and the \u201ccold call pope\u201d was back at it again recently, stunning a sick Italian seminarian with a call to promise prayers and to urge him not to lose hope. The call to Antonio Esposito came on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":92761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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