Midweek Blues
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Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. A story about Pope Francis swept people up this week. But here’s what really happened.
An image of the Pope holding hands with a girl with Down Syndrome has been doing the rounds on the internet this week. The story the internet has spun however is slightly further from the truth. The image was taken in October of 2017, as the Special Olympics athletes attended an audience with Pope Francis.
Chairman of the Special Olympics Timothy Shriver delivered a speech, calling for the inclusion of athletes with special needs.
It was at this point that four-year-old Gemma Pompili from Rome was invited to present the Bishop of Rome with a pair of Special Olympic branded shoes.
She was invited to sit beside the Francis for the remainder of the event, being part of the Special Olympics Young Athletes.
The image was recently shared on Reddit and Twitter with a different story:
Yesterday a little girl with Down syndrome ran up to Pope Francis while he was preaching and when his security guards tried to block her, he said “come sit next to me” and held her hand for the rest of the sermon. Love this so much. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Y4AJueTPGx
— Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) February 13, 2018
The story was that the girl ran up to where the Pope was, security tried to stop her, but Pope Francis invited her to sit beside him.
It began circulating on r/pics, but the story has been disproved.
Think of this as a PSA Midweek Blues.
But we can all agree it’s a cute photo.