Nine years ago I led a pilgrimage to Italy with @linorulli. We had a guy on the pilgrimage who thought he might have a calling to the priesthood.

He mentioned to a few people that he was kind of hoping for a sign on the pilgrimage. He settled for something possible, but not very likely.

He decided that if he ran into his former bishop, he would take that as a sign.

Our first night in Rome we took the group to Scarpone. Seated at the table beside us was his former bishop, @cardinalrlburke. They chatted for a bit.

Fun side note: As the night progressed and our group had a bit too much fun, we were shushed by the Cardinal’s table a few times.

So our guy said that running into the Cardinal was way too easy and he wasn’t going to take that as his sign.

He decided to put the sign way out of reach and said if he met Pope Benedict, he would take that as a sign he was being called.

Like that was going to happen.

A couple days go by and we find out about a concert for Pope Benedict being held in the Paul VI Auditorium.

After a few calls, we have tickets for everyone in the group.

A crazy side note, less than half the group decided to go.

Still, who meets the pope at a concert?

So this guy, let’s call him Christopher, gets a prime spot right on the aisle.

When Pope Benedict walked in, he walked directly up to Christopher and took his hand and looked him in the eye.

So then Christopher says, “okay, if he does that again on the way out...”

Guess who’s being ordained for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis as I type this? @cdsstlcop

I present to you, FATHER Christopher Smith. First blessings on two of our friends.