Recently, Inés de Urquidi got to celebrate reaching double-digits in the most unusual and meaningful way.
The 10-year-old from Dallas, Texas, had been dying to see where her father, José Manuel de Urquidi, has been working in Rome since the beginning of the month. Her parents decided that her birthday would be the perfect opportunity to leave her two brothers at home with their grandma, and for her mother Ana Cecilia to take her on the long trip to go and see her father at work.
The self-described "digital missionary" is a former lawyer and restaurateur, and after he "answered the call of Christ" is now a delegate of CELAM (the Episcopal Conference of Latin America) to the General Assembly of the Synod.
During the Synod Jose Manuel is sharing his experience as a digital evangelist and Catholic content creator in the US and Latin America, according to Vatican News. And on Thursday morning he was able to take his birthday girl to the Synod Hall to see what was going on.
The pope leads the way!
As with all long gatherings, there's always room for a coffee break, but Thursday morning proved a little different than usual. Along with an applause, the sound of "Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you, little one!" could be heard. Then Pope Francis started off a chorus for the birthday girl as she entered the room.
Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, then announced:
This week we have often highlighted the importance of family, and today we celebrate because one of our members, José Manuel de Urquidi, is here with his wife and daughter, whose 10th birthday is today. Come here and meet the Holy Father.”
Along with her parents, Inés went up to meet the pope in person -- although he'd already sent her a birthday video the year before. The pontiff addressed the family and said: "What a beautiful family, I am so happy to see you." He also turned to Inés and said: "Thank you for lending your daddy to the Church."
The gift exchange
As with all birthday celebrations, gifts were exchanged. Pope Francis gave Inés a wooden box of alfajores from Cordóba -- some of his favorite treats from his native Argentina, which are cookies filled with dulce de leche.
He jokingly instructed the 10-year-old to “eat them together, not all by yourself or else you’ll fill your belly."
In return, Inés gifted the pope with letters and pictures from her school friends from All Saints Catholic School in Dallas.
Some of the messages were particularly cute, with one child stating: "You work very hard and are a fantastic Pope." Another asked him the pertinent question: "Do you like being a Pope?"
After a blessing, members of the Synod gathered round to wish Inés a happy birthday. Thanks to all the special attention paid to her, it will certainly be one she'll never forget!
