'Very emotional': Fonda woman recalls meeting Pope Francis

FONDA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Following Pope Francis’s passing, people around the world are mourning including one local woman who got the chance to meet Pope Francis just last year.

Surrounded by the striking pillars of St. Peter’s Square and Rome’s historic architecture, Melissa Miščević Bramble remembered feeling empowered.

“It was very emotional, you know, I got teary then, I’m getting tear now just remembering that,” said Bramble. “It was a very powerful experience because he’s somebody who worked so much to be a unifying figure.”

Bramble is the director of operations with the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda. In March 2024, her work granted her the chance to speak at a conference, held by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

“I was one of two Americans who were presenting at the conference,” said Bramble. “And we were also invited to have a private audience with Pope Francis.”

Bramble said getting to see Pope Francis on that day was a complete surprise. She not only got to listen to him speak, but also got to shake his hand.

“When I got to him, all I could do was look him in the eyes and shake his hand and say thank you,” said Bramble.

A few fleeting moments, Bramble said she would never forget.

“What I remember most were his eyes. Just the clarity of his eyes and the focus that he gave each person as they came out and shook his hand,” said Bramble. “To me that was really the most captivating thing about him.”

The conference was about the importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church. Bramble recalled the powerful words Pope Francis used to describe women and their value.

“He talked about how in the Catholic Church, the church is considered a woman, the church is considered run by the bread of Christ,” said Bramble. “And he said, ‘Who better to reveal the face of the church? And that women were uniquely positioned to talk about the church.”

Bramble said she’s taken all of these lessons back with her to Fonda, where she too teaches about the value of women — women like Saint Kateri — who was baptized right in Fonda and the first Native American to be recognized as a saint.

The ministry is also run by religious brothers who have similarly taken St. Francis as their spiritual guide. Bramble said she hopes Pope Francis can be remembered as a leader who cared deeply for others, especially those who were struggling.

Despite not being Catholic herself, she said meeting Pope Francis was the utmost honor.

“We can’t meet Gandhi, but you can meet Pope Francis and he had that kind of universal appeal,” said Bramble.