During the short time that His Holiness Pope Francis was in the Kingdom of Thailand, he performed two public masses, one in the National Stadium in front of a crowd of 70,000 and the second to a smaller gathering at Assumption Cathedral. Tickets were allocated by lottery, and while they were hard to get for the stadium mass, they were even more difficult to obtain for the mass at the cathedral. However, luck was on the side of two students from the Technological College for people with Disabilities and one young man from the Father Ray Children’s Home.

Not only were they given tickets for the cathedral, but tickets in zone 1, as close to the altar as it was possible to sit. For one student, living with severe cerebral palsy, hundreds of miles from home and can only use one foot to drive his wheelchair, the day was to become the happiest of his life so far, when the Holy Father walked towards him and personally blessed him.

It was a day that will live forever in the memories of three young students from the Father Ray Foundation, a day they will talk about for many years to come.