At just four months old, Dinis Francesco already shares a rare and heartfelt connection with the late Pope – a chance encounter that deeply moved his family and ultimately inspired his name.
It all happened on 26 September last year, during Pope Francis’s historic visit to Luxembourg. Just a few steps from Notre-Dame Cathedral, he made an unplanned stop at Café Gruppetto for a quick espresso. It was there that he crossed paths with a young family, a brief but unforgettable moment.
“I turned around and suddenly he was there – the Pope, right in front of us,” recalls André Ribeiro. “He smiled from his wheelchair and simply said, ‘Buongiorno.’ I was frozen. I couldn’t speak. His presence had such powerful energy.”
André was there with his wife, Gisela Duro, who was pregnant at the time, and his mother, Maria Dos Anjos. What began as an ordinary outing became extraordinary when they found themselves unexpectedly sharing a quiet moment with the Pope, while he was sipping on a quick espresso.
But the encounter became even more meaningful when it turned personal.
“The first thing he did was place his hand on my belly and bless the baby,” Gisela remembers. “From that moment, I felt a deep peace. It was like a sign, that everything would be okay with the pregnancy and the birth.”
Pope Francis then gave each of them a rosary: one for André, Gisela, Maria, and a special one for the unborn child.
“I wear mine everywhere,” says André while giving us a glimpse of his rosary under his shirt. “It’s like mine own personal lucky charm.”
The rosary for the unborn baby came in a small box, accompanied by a single request:
“Don’t open it until the baby is born.”
They kept their promise. On 21 December, the day Dinis was born, they finally opened the box. Since then, the rosary has rarely left his side.
The encounter left such a profound impact that naming their son felt like a natural choice.
“We named him Dinis Francesco, in honour of Pope Francis,” said Gisela. She added:
“And there’s more, the Pope passed away on 21 April, the day Dinis turned four months old...”
In October, just a few weeks after an unexpected encounter with Pope Francis, the family travelled to the Sanctuary of Fátima in Portugal. While there, they sent a letter to the Vatican, along with a photograph capturing their brief moment with the Pope, to express their hope of one day visiting Rome – this time to introduce their son Dinis in person.
That second meeting never took place. Nonetheless, for André and Gisela, that fleeting encounter was enough to leave a profound and lasting impression.
“Sometimes I ask myself – why us? Why were we given that moment? Was it chance? Was it fate?” André said. “Perhaps I’ll never know. But we will always be grateful to him, and to the universe for that blessing, and for the greatest gift of all: our little baby boy.”
