Pope Francis embraces Vinicio Riva
Photographer: Unknown
Date: November 6, 2013
Location: St. Peter's Square, Vatican City
The photograph — widely attributed to an unnamed bystander or Vatican photographer — shows Pope Francis embracing Vinicio Riva, a 53-year-old Italian man with neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic disorder that caused severe disfigurement of his face, neck, and hands with large tumors. The embrace occurred after the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square on November 6, 2013. Riva, who attended with his sister, described the moment as transformative; he said the Pope held him for a long time and did not flinch. The photograph spread rapidly on social media as a symbol of Pope Francis's emphasis on compassion toward the marginalized and became one of the most powerful images of his early papacy. Pope Francis later called Riva on the phone to check on him and invited him back to the Vatican.
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