SHE may be too young to understand what happened, but Claire Hill’s family will always remember the day she was blessed by the Pope.
Sue and Peter Hill took the majority of their 11 children to Sydney to be a part of World Youth Day events, but they never expected one-year-old Claire to become one of three babies picked from the crowd.
“We were in Sydney on Monday and Tuesday for WYD Week and then we returned on Friday to take a pilgrimage through the city,” Ms Hill said.
“On Saturday night we slept out at Randwick and by Sunday morning most of the kids were up there.”
After spending the night at Randwick Ms Hill took the majority of her children to the Pope’s final mass in Australia, leaving Claire with her father to arrive later.
Ms Hill and her family positioned themselves in the front of the crowd directly behind the priests.
When Mr Hill arrived with Claire he found a gap in the crowd and approached the fence in an area away from the rest of the family, separated by the massive crowds.
“Our daughter Sarah found them in the crowd and told her father to move along, he held the baby out and the crowd let him in.
“He said the car carrying the Pope suddenly stopped, down came the window and Claire was carried across to him by men in black.
“I looked down from where we were and saw it happen, but then the kids saw it on the big screen and realised it was Claire. It was so special.
“Later in the mass my husband found us and I said ‘Did you...” and he just nodded with tears in his eyes.”
It was not the first time Claire had been blessed by members of the clergy.
“When I was pregnant we went to the cathedral and the Cardinal blessed me,” Ms Hill said.
“The Bishop of Wollongong also blessed me while I was pregnant.”
It has been speculated the red jacket Claire wore on Sunday led to her being chosen, but Ms Hill said she had not dressed her in the Pope’s favourite colour intentionally.
“It was the thickest and warmest jacket she has, and she’d never worn it before.”
The blessing on baby Claire was a surreal experience for the Hills who found the entire WYD experience to be peaceful and joyful.
“It was so amazing to see the different nationalities singing and celebrating together, it was so good. Everyone was so happy.
“It’s an experience we will all have with us for the rest of our lives.”