London, 19 September, 2020 / 7:49 pm (ACI Africa).
Paschal Uche woke up early on the morning of Sept. 18, 2010, a day that would change his life. He needed to set off in good time in order to pass through security at the event he was attending in central London.
The 21-year-old hopped on the Tube near his home in Stratford, East London, and headed towards Westminster. On the way there, he began to see more and more young people heading in the same direction: towards a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI after Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
“I remember being there in the Mass and being really wowed by the liturgy, and all that was happening,” Uche said in an interview for a forthcoming EWTN “Vaticano” program marking 10 years since the German pope’s electrifying visit to Britain.
“And as I was praying after Holy Communion, just taking in the wonder of being there that day, I got tapped on the shoulder and someone said: ‘It’s time now to come out and to welcome the Holy Father on behalf of the young people.’”
Uche, dressed in a sky blue sweatshirt with the name of his diocese on the back, was ushered into the brilliant sunshine on the cathedral steps. The pope stood a few feet away from him. In the piazza before him were 2,500 young Catholics.