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Sr. Mary Joseph Calore, SSCJ @sscjusa - True Story:
A young man had a vocation to the priesthood, so his bishop sent him to study in Rome.
After being duly ordained priest and serving in the diocese, his bishop sent him to Rome again for further study.
While there he used to visit a small church to say his office and to Pray.
At the door sat a group of beggars seeking alms, and one of them made him feel uneasy for some inexplicable reason.
So he went back to him and asked, “Do I know you?” “Yes,” said the beggar, “I studied for the priesthood with you here in Rome and was ordained.”
The priest asked aghast, “Whatever happened to you?” He was told: “I encountered crisis after crisis in my life and eventually renounced the priesthood. I had my priestly faculties taken from me. I lost everything and am reduced to begging.”
The priest could not forget the beggar and Prayed constantly for him.
The study course he was attending was drawing to an end and the students were invited to receive individual blessings from Pope John Paul II.
They were forbidden to speak to him personally, but as the priest knelt to receive the blessing, his mind was so full of the beggar that he blurted out, “Holy Father, please pray for X who sits begging outside a church in Rome. He was ordained a priest, but has resigned and his priestly faculties were removed.”
He hardly had time to finish as he was hustled away by indignant attendants.
A few days later the priest received an invitation and he hurried to the church and found the beggar. “Come quickly,” he said, “We are to dine with the Pope.”
“Impossible,” replied the beggar, “How could I visit him in this state?”
The priest helped him to tidy up and they entered by the great gates of St. Peter’s, where they were met by Monsignor Dziwisz, the Polish secretary to the Pope.
He conducted them to the dining room where His Holiness awaited them. After introductions, they sat down to a lovely meal.
During dessert, the Pope signaled to his secretary who rose, and beckoning to the priest to follow him, left the room.