Moisés turned 14 on the day of the documentary's presentation in Madrid, on 21 September. He never tires of repeating that for him it is "a miracle to be able to travel and get to know so many countries and people, because I would never have imagined it." Yesterday, after greeting Pope Francis and exchanging a few words with him, he confessed that it was "the most beautiful day of my life."
"I had only seen the Pope in photos, because my grandmother had one in her house in the countryside and Karen also has her photo in her office, but meeting him in person was incredible" Moises said. Accompanied by Salesian missionary Fr Juan Linares and the spokesperson for Misiones Salesianas, and producer of the documentary, Alberto López, Moisés and Karen realised "one of the dreams of the trip: to be able to greet the Pope."
The first destination of the European tour for the documentary "Canillitas" (Ed. a term that literally refers to the young newspaper boys who sold newspapers on street corners, but which has been extended to all children who earn their living with informal jobs) ended with a meeting with Pope Francis after the general audience.
The producer of the documentary spoke to the Holy Father about the "Soñar sin Cadenas" (Dream Without Chains) campaign and handed him the latest Misiones Salesianas Magazine. And after he introduced "the courageous Moisés" to the Pope, a child labourer who earns a living shining shoes to help his family, but thanks to the Salesians can now also study", the Pope struck up a conversation with the boy.
Moisés handed him a drawing of the "Casa de Canillitas" in Santo Domingo and told him that "all the canillitas send their greetings and pray for you." The Pope then asked Moisés to bring "my greetings to them too." The Holy Father asked the youngest protagonist of the documentary "how many friends do you have among the Canillitas" and Moisés, after giving it some thought, replied "more than a hundred."
Missionary Juan Linares told the Pope that Moisés could clean his shoes if he wanted, because "he does it quickly and very well", making Francis smile. Karen, nicknamed in the meeting the previous day in the Vatican before the media as "the Mamma Margaret of the Canillitas project", gave the Holy Father the documentary on Misiones Salesianas.
“For me, as a Catholic, it was impressive to be able to be so close to the Pope. At that time, I had in mind all the educators and all the children who have gone through the program throughout its history” Karen said.
Pope Francis asked one of his assistants for two boxes of rosaries to be delivered to Moisés "and to be distributed among the canillitas of the Don Bosco project."
The international tour for the presentation of the documentary "Canillitas" now continues in Vienna and then in Warsaw, Brussels and Lisbon, before the protagonists visit 12 Spanish cities, starting on 16 October.
