WHEN IN ROME: Chicago Cubs fans at Saturday’s Major League Baseball game caught sight of Pope Leo XIV via a video message on the Jumbotron, but the fashion designer Josie Natori met him face-to-face earlier last week in Rome.
Natori’s original plan was to take her 100-year-old mother, who lives in the Philippines, to Italy for a June 10 event that was tied to the Jubilee Year 2025. That same day the pontiff had met with apostolic nuncios and other papal representatives in the Vatican.
For the past 40-plus years in the Philippines, Natori’s mother Angelita Cruz has been very close to the nuncios (who act as pontifical ambassadors), the designer said. But it was decided that the trip to Rome would have been too physically demanding for Cruz. The heat in St. Peter’s Square also turned out to be more intense than anticipated, said Natori, who wore a wide-brimmed hat to shield the sun.
Natori said she unexpectedly shared a few words with the pope about her Filipino heritage outside of the Vatican in St. Peter’s Square. Years ago as a missionary with the Order of Saint Augustine, he made numerous visits to the Philippines, which is predominantly Catholic.
While on a video call with Cruz, Natori told the pontiff that her mother will be 101 in October. He then wished Cruz a happy birthday and gave her a papal blessing, Natori said. Accompanied by Flavia and Mario Bea, the sister and brother-in-law of the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Gabriele Caccia, Natori said the pope “spent a little time, because of course he knows her brother,” she said.
Pope Leo XIV, Flavia Bea and her husband Mario, and Josie Natori.
Photo by Simone Risoluti/ Courtesy Josie Natori
While there was “such a huge crowd” at the weekly public audience, Natori said, “He was so kind. You could see that he really took his time to talk to people. He was there for hours. The square was filled. It was very touching. He spoke in different languages to welcome different people from different countries. Obviously, there were [religious] cardinals and bishops, and people from the villages and disabled people. There was also a group of people who were wearing bridal gowns.”
This was not the first time that Natori or her mother have met a pope. When Pope Francis visited Manila in 2017, Natori provided the linens, towels and bathrobe for His Holiness and helped to spruce up the accommodations during his four-day stay.