By Faith Karimi, CNN
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Pope Francis caresses a man
suffering from a rare disease on Wednesday, November 6, in St. Peter's Square.
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It was the embrace that melted hearts
worldwide.
Pope Francis, pausing for a moment to
pray and lay his hands on a man with a disfiguring disease. The man gently
burying his head in the Pope's chest, his many facial tumors visible.
His encounter with the ailing man
occurred in Vatican City on Wednesday at the end of the general audience, which
had about 50,000 attendees.
Images of the Pope's embrace in St.
Peter's Square went viral on social media.
"I'm an atheist, but the more I
hear about Pope Francis, the
more I like him," Donna Hosie tweeted.
Some say Pope Francis is living up to
the ideals of his namesake, Francis of Assisi, a preeminent figure who
considered himself a servant to the poor and destitute.
Since taking over as the leader of the
world's 1.2 billion Catholics, the Pope has highlighted the need to reach out
to the poor and afflicted.
"Lord, teach us to step outside
ourselves," he tweeted in August. "Teach
us to go out into the streets and manifest your love."
A month later, he echoed the same
sentiment.
"True
charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands
dirty so as to help those in need," he tweeted.
The Pope has called for open
interaction with people from all walks of life, especially the poor, weak and
vulnerable.
And he is practicing what he preaches.
The man the Pope comforted suffers from
neurofibromatosis, according to the Catholic News Agency. The genetic disorder
causes
pain and thousands of tumors throughout the body. It leads to hearing and
vision loss, heart and blood vessel complications, and severe disability from
nerve compression by tumors.
The moment marked the latest in a
series of memorable encounters for the Pope.
Last month, a pint-sized papal pal
joined him on stage -- and
refused to let go.
CNN's Hada Messia contributed to this
report.
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