GREEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — It was a moment a Green Township couple will never forget.
Courtney and Dave Doll had the rare opportunity to meet the pontiff on their honeymoon in Italy in 2017.
"I wanted to see how I could meet the Pope," Courtney said. "We got married in a Catholic church. We were both Catholic. We were raised Catholic."
After submitting paperwork to the Vatican (couples need to have been married at a Catholic church in the prior two months), the pair received approval to join a papal audience alongside other newlyweds.
Despite pouring rain on the morning of their audience, the Dolls donned their white dress and suit and stood outside St. Peter’s Square for hours. The audience was moved into the Paul VI Audience Hall.
Listen to Courtney describe what the Pope said to her:
"All of the newlyweds were running into this building, so we followed them, and we got ushered into the first row," Doll said.
Pope Francis emerged, and after delivering remarks and anointing the sick, approached the newlyweds.
"He came through the first row and held our hands. I had all these rosaries in my hand. He blesses all those and he said, 'Pray for me'.... he stood there for a few seconds, and then went to the next people," Doll said.
The spontaneous and religious moment caught the couple by surprise, Courtney said.
"I did not think that I was going to actually be in the moment of, like, holding his hands," she said.
Do you have a personal story about Pope Francis? Email me at andrew.rowan@wcpo.com.
The rosaries have now become treasured family heirlooms, even though she bought them at a gift shop the night before.
"That's how much I didn't think I was going to be that close to him," Doll said. "I wish I had known, because I would have brought my personal items."
As tributes pour in following the Pope's death, Courtney said she will remember his personal interactions with the people who came to see him that day.
"I think he will be remembered as the pope for the people, for sure," Courtney said.
