These three women have something in common: each have suffered the loss of a child.
Pope Francis met with them shortly before his General Audience on Wednesday.
Carmen's son was named Carlos. He passed away 17 years ago.
CARMEN
It was like a reconciliation with God, yes, like an encounter.
Because my son's death really brought me closer to God. Then, you go forward a little bit, but because of the craziness of life, you fall away. I still go to Mass, but you're a little distant. It's like a reunion. I feel great. I feel very good.
Ana's son's name was Ismael. He died after a heart transplant. Ana was able to tell Pope Francis about his story.
ANA
I think he was very moved by it. Even though he said he could not fully understand us because he has no children, I felt that he understood our suffering perfectly. He even made us smile. He saw that we were tearing up at times, so he made jokes to make us feel better.
The Pope listened to the mothers attentively and patiently. All three said they felt very close to him.
Susana's son's name was Luis Miguel and he passed away only five months ago. She says she was especially touched by one thing the Pope told her.
SUSANA
He told us that there is no word that can truly express what it is to lose a child. Because if you lose your husband, you become a widow; if you lose a parent, you become an orphan, but for a parent who loses a child, there is no name.
Susana acknowledges that although she is not a strong Christian, she did not want to miss the opportunity to share her pain with the Pope.
SUSANA.
We needed someone to bring us light because there's a lot of darkness inside us due to our son's death. We miss him very much. But he has healed our souls a little bit, and that is why we came to Rome.
Pope Francis said that our children have taught us an important lesson because the truth is that they were very brave and we have to learn from the life lesson that they gave us. They came into this world to fulfill a mission and that mission has been passed onto us.
Pope Francis' message reminded Ana, Susana, and Carmen that their children's mission is not over, rather it lives on through each one of them.
SOT
TR: KG
