RETIRED Brisbane priest Fr Peter Luton has described meeting Pope Francis as a wonderful experience and a great honour.
Fr Luton was presented to Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square during a visit to Rome last month.
“People were cheering and yelling and I couldn’t hear what he (Pope Francis) was saying. He held my hand … a wonderful experience,” he said.
It was not Fr Luton’s first visit to Rome, but it was the first time the 80-year-old has met a pope.
“There must have been about fifty people in the audience, and I was in seat 48,” he said.
Fr Luton said part of his visit to Rome was to reconnect with Fr Anthony Ekpo, a Nigerian priest who served in Brisbane for a decade and in 2016 was appointed to work in the Vatican for the General Affairs English section of the Secretaries of State.
Fr Luton said he understood Fr Ekpo organised his papal encounter, and he learnt of the honour shortly before his trip.
