A five year old Ohio girl suffering from a rare condition that will gradually render her blind and deaf melted the hearts of all during Wednesday’s general audience in Rome, including Pope Francis who lovingly blessed the child’s eyes and promised to pray for her.
Vatican Radio is reporting on the meeting between Pope Francis and five year-old Lizzy Myers which took place during the general audience on Wednesday. Lizzy’s parents, Steve and Christine Myers, decided to make a “visual bucket list” for Lizzy, to enable her to see as much of the world as possible before she is robbed of her sight and hearing by a condition known as Usher Syndrome. This rare genetic disorder is caused by a mutation in any one of 11 genes that results in a combination of both vision and hearing loss.
Doctors say that Lizzy has about five to seven years before the disease will rob her of her sight and hearing.
When Lizzy was first diagnosed, her parents created the bucket list and made one of their first visits to an observatory so their daughter could see the moon, stars, and meteors. A reporter from a small local newspaper wrote the story, which landed on the front page. From there, it was picked up the Associated Press. Soon after, the family was contacted by Turkish Airlines who offered to cover the cost of a trip to anywhere in the world. The family decided on Rome, and an Italian charity known as U.N.I.T.A.L.S.I. invited them to the Vatican for the audience.
As Aleteia reports, Lizzy’s parents never expected anything more than to see the pope from the crowd – but God had other ideas.
The family was given special seats at the event and were astonished when Pope Francis came right over to them.
“I was very nervous coming up to that point,” said Lizzy’s father, Steve Myers. “But as soon as Pope Francis came up to where Lizzy was, a calm came over me. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Francis spent several minutes with Lizzy, caressing her, hugging her, placing his hands over her eyes and blessing her. In return, Lizzy gave him a meteorite chunk. The Pope promised to pray for Lizzy, then asked the family to pray for him in return.
Christine Myers said afterward that Lizzy was “awestruck” by the meeting. “She was totally big-eyed and it was a very powerful moment for her.”
Lizzy, who attends a Catholic Montessori school, told her parents that she wanted to knock on the Pope’s door when they were in Rome. Little did she know at the time that the Lord would provide her with much more than that!
“We came here again hoping for some amazing memories for Lizzy, something that she’ll remember when things change for her,” Steve said. “But what we got … I think we’ve seen several miracles, and I think that what Pope Francis has done for Lizzy … if there’s any chance for a miracle, it’s there.”
