This was not the first time that Mexican actor Eduardo Verástegui visited Pope Francis. Every year, he makes the trip as a member of the Papal Foundation, a charitable organization established in the United States.
The Pope received about 70 members of the Foundation in a private meeting. At the end of the audience, the actor approached Pope Francis and asked him to bless an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
EDUARDO VERÁSTEGUI
Actor & Film Producer
For more than four years I have been praying the rosary live through social media, from a chapel that I have in my house, which is called “el rincón guadalupano.” We are taking this image of Our Lady on a tour throughout Mexico. And I explained this to Pope Francis. I told him, “This image is very special, because it is the one that is going to accompany us, could you please bless it?” And he said, “Of course, immediately.”
Eduardo will begin a tour of Mexico's 32 states in May, where he will pray the rosary with different groups, many of them for young people. On this tour, he will carry the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe blessed by the Pope.
During his trip to Rome, Eduardo, who is also a politician, met with the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. And he presented her with another image of the Virgin Mary as a gift.
Some of the topics they discussed were child and organ trafficking around the world. The actor, in fact, produced a film called Sound of Freedom, precisely to raise awareness of this problem that affects countries such as Mexico and the United States.
EDUARDO VERÁSTEGUI
Actor & Film Producer
We finished it four years ago…Four years of experiencing rejections and door closing because they told us that this wasn't going to work, that it wasn't good business, that the film wasn't going to work. And in the face of this refusal, when the Hollywood experts close the door on you, you have two options: either you give up and throw in the towel and go and look for another project, because you were not “successful,” or, when it comes to saving lives, you don't give up, you don't throw in the towel, and you keep on fighting as long as you can.
The film stars Jim Caviezel, best known for his role as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. Sound of Freedom broke box office records, reaching number one in countries including Mexico, Colombia and Peru.
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TR: KG
