There are memories from childhood whose emotion remains intact. For Analía Maiorana, one of them takes place in Rome, in the company of her parents, and a gesture she can still conjure: the hand of Pope John Paul II squeezing hers when she was barely seven.
“It’s today that I remember it as something unique,” she told Para Ti. Years passed, other experiences arrived, and she herself became a mother. But that first encounter continues to hold a special place in her story.
Now, after hearing Leo XIV, she was moved again. And while explaining what happened, she found a simple phrase that sums up the intimacy of that moment: “One, at the same time as listening to him, asks and gives thanks, above all”.
From Her Parents’ Hand to an Encounter with Her Daughters
This is Analía’s third opportunity to experience an audience with a Pope. The first was when she was a girl, accompanied by her parents. The second, also in Rome, had by her side her daughters Lola and Malena, and Diego.
Of that experience with Francis she keeps the memory of a very close conversation: “There we had a very, very pleasant chat”.
Two scenes appear in her account, from different stages of her life: the daughter who meets John Paul II hand in hand with her parents, and the mother who shares with her own daughters another encounter with Francis. Memories that today join the emotion of listening to Leo XIV.
“I’m seeing a humble, sincere Pope, with his feet on the ground,” she expressed. That closeness, that straightforward way of communicating, was part of what moved her: “I got emotional, but very, very much”.
The Message That Moved Her the Most: Looking at Each Other and Listening
For Analía, Leo XIV’s arrival carries a meaning that is also collective. “For me, it was something historic,” she assured. And she explained why she feels his words arrive at a moment the country needs them.
“We need to listen to what he communicated to us,” she reflected. As she recalled the message, she highlighted the unity of the family and everyday gestures that, at times, are overlooked: “Look each other in the face, listen to each other, talk.”
She was also moved by references to grandparents who live alone and to people with disabilities. In those words she found an invitation to pay more attention to those who are close to us.
“It seems to me that it makes us Argentines see a little more of the other, look at each other more, also notice the positives in others and help one another,” she shared.
Her reflection brings that message into everyday life: making space for a conversation, acknowledging loneliness, recognizing something good in another person. Finding ways to be present.
“The Family Can Be a Neighbor”
When speaking of family, Analía broadened her view toward those ties that also sustain us and make us feel accompanied.
“The family can be a neighbor, it can be a distant uncle, it doesn’t matter who they are,” she said. For her, what stood out was the importance of unity and supporting one another.
Perhaps that is why her testimony naturally ties personal memories to a shared reflection. There is that seven-year-old girl who still recalls a hand. There is the mother who could share another experience with her daughters. And there is the woman who today is moved by hearing a message that invites her to look around.
In the midst of all that, there are requests and, especially, gratitude. As she herself said: “One asks and gives thanks, above all”.
