VATICAN CITY -- WFMY News 2 Good Morning Show anchor Meghann Mollerus and husband Trevor started their marriage blessed by God, their loved ones and -- Pope Francis.
After marrying in Greensboro July 28, 2018, they started their honeymoon in Rome. The Pope happened to be in town that week -- but what were the chances the happy couple would get to meet him?
Meghann grew up Catholic. She remembers, as a child, attending the late-Pope John Paul II's Mass in St. Louis. Then in September 2015, she was in Washington, DC with Pope Francis, while guest reporting for WFMY sister station WUSA during the Pope's American tour. But, she never saw him up close.
Last year, she read on Facebook about something called the Sposi Novelli -- a special section of the Pope's weekly audience reserved for newlywed couples. She had seen pictures of other newly-married couples who appeared to have met the Pope.
"The pictures looked PhotoShopped," she said. "It was so neat."
Meghann put the information in the back of her mind, until her now-husband started planning their honeymoon to Rome. She looked up the Pope's schedule and couldn't believe he was scheduled to hold his Wednesday papal audience on Wednesday, Aug. 1 -- the only Wednesday she and Trevor would be in Rome.
They set out for Vatican City that morning, trying not to get their hopes up. With a marriage certificate copy in hand and dressed in their Sunday best, Meghann and Trevor were admitted to the papal audience and sat among newlyweds from around the world.
At the end of a multi-language service, Pope Francis blessed several groups of people -- including the newly-married couples who had traveled from near and far to see him. He then visited with elderly adults, people with disabilities, gravely-ill children, choir groups and other admirers who just hoped to get close to the man known as the "People's Pope."
"It was emotional to watch him give everyone he met his undivided attention and bring comfort to those who needed it most. People were crying with happiness, overwhelmed by the experience," Meghann recalls.
Eventually, the Pope made his way to the Sposi Novelli section. Meghann and Trevor squeezed close to the railing.
"I had so much I wanted to say to him, but when he approached me, I felt speechless. I remember asking him to please bless our marriage and our rings. He smiled and shook our hands. It was an unforgettable experience," Meghann said.
Greetings from Rome, where this morning POPE FRANCIS shook our hands and blessed our marriage. We sat alongside...