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At Philadelphia airport, pope blesses, kisses head of disabled boy

Pope Francis kisses and blesses Michael Keating, 10, of Elverson, Pa., after arriving in Philadelphia and exiting his car when he saw the boy on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, at Philadelphia International Airport. Keating has cerebral palsy and is the son of Chuck Keating, director of the Bishop Shanahan High School band that performed at Pope Francis’ airport arrival.
Pope Francis kisses and blesses Michael Keating, 10, of Elverson, Pa., after arriving in Philadelphia and exiting his car when he saw the boy on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, at Philadelphia International Airport. Keating has cerebral palsy and is the son of Chuck Keating, director of the Bishop Shanahan High School band that performed at Pope Francis’ airport arrival. Joseph Gidjunis World Meeting of Families via AP
PHILADELPHIA

Pope Francis kissed the forehead of a boy with cerebral palsy after landing in Philadelphia, coaxing a small smile from the profoundly disabled 10-year-old.

Francis apparently spied Michael Keating as he was being driven away from the plane on Saturday morning.

Ordering the car to stop, Francis got out and walked over to the boy, put his hand on his head and kissed him as his sobbing mother looked on.

Kristin Keating thanked the pope, who grasped her hand. He also shook the hand of Keating’s husband, Chuck Keating, the band director at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown. The band played for the pope’s arrival.

Kristin Keating calls it a beautiful gesture by Francis and says she believes Michael felt the pope’s blessing.

 

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 1:04 PM with the headline "At Philadelphia airport, pope blesses, kisses head of disabled boy."

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