Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine has a special connection to Pope Francis and still feels fortunate he was once able to meet him in St. Peter’s Square, where large crowds gathered Saturday for the pope’s funeral.

The brief meeting took place in 2017 and is especially important to Kaine, who’s a devout Catholic and worked with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras four decades ago.

Kaine recalls when Pope Francis was chosen as the first Latin American to become pontiff.

“Immediately, it was apparent that he was going to bring some sunlight into my church,” Kaine said in an interview with WTOP.

Kaine noted that Pope Francis spoke to Congress in 2015 and discussed the global refugee crisis.

The Democratic lawmaker does work on refugee issues as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and that led him to go to the Vatican in 2017 to speak with officials and see if he could get a chance to speak with the pope.

Visiting with the pope in Spanish

Kaine recalled that day he was in Rome was a Wednesday, when the pope often speaks to a general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

There was also a small rope line of about 100 people.

“They put me at the end of the line, and they said, if you’re here, when he gets to you, he doesn’t need to rush, and you can actually have a visit,” Kaine said.

He watched the pope meet with people, including a group of folk dancers from his homeland Argentina, which he said was “a really delightful conversation in Spanish.”

When Pope Francis came to Kaine, the senator — who is fluent in Spanish — said he admired him and was looking forward to visiting with him.

“The fact that I spoke to him in Spanish made him open up, and we talked for about five minutes about refugee issues,” he said.

Then, at the end of their conversation, the pope switched to English to say three words to him.

“And the words were, ‘Pray for me,'” Kaine said. “And he gave me a rosary. I have that rosary here at home. Through that interaction, I will always cherish that.”

Pope’s legacy

Kaine said he believes Pope Francis’ legacy will reflect his humility and his compassion.

He pointed out that early in his papacy he was asked about a priest who was gay and said, “Who am I to judge?”

Kaine said while the statement is simple, he felt it was a “powerful message of acceptance” for people who felt they were disowned by the church.

Regarding humility, Kaine said the pope felt very strongly that leaders need to be humble.

“He used to lecture the church hierarchy, but it was really a lecture for leaders generally, saying that you need to smell like the flock,” Kaine said. “If you’re a shepherd, you need to smell like the flock.”

The senator also said he thought of the pope’s commitment to peace when Kaine recently traveled to Ukraine and was standing near a bullet-riddled church.

On an optimistic note, Kaine also pointed out that the pope had declared 2025 as the Jubilee Year, a time of spiritual renewal.

“We’re pilgrims,” Kaine said, paraphrasing the pope. “We’re on a journey, and the journey has to be toward hope, not despair.”

Kaine said Pope Francis provided that message not just through his words, but “in his very being.”

“And I think that’s a message that I’m grappling with — how to best follow it,” Kaine said.