Pablo, who died at 21, to Pope Francis: 'I cannot be at WYD but will follow from Heaven'

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Pablo knew he would not be able to go to the World Youth Day. Ewing's sarcoma, a tumour that develops at any age and in any part of the body, had given him no hope.

He did not know, however, whether during the days when Pope Francis would meet thousands of young people in the Portuguese capital for the world event, he would still be alive or already in Heaven, close to the One he called the "Beloved," Jesus, who "gave me so much, consoled me so greatly, and made me so happy!"

In Heaven, shaking things up

Pablo himself wrote this in a letter delivered to Pope Francis aboard the papal plane bound for Lisbon: "I do not know if, when I receive this letter, I will be able to accompany you in prayer, or if God, in His infinite mercy, will have already called me. In that case, I hope He will allow me to give you a hand - and all the better - from Heaven, 'shaking things up' and celebrating, as you rightly say."

Pablo, who died at age 21

Died a Carmelite

Pablo Alonso María de la Cruz Hidalgo died on 15 July. He died as a Carmelite, having entered the Order "in articulo mortis," taking his vows in his room at the Hospital Clinic in Salamanca.

His religious consecration was a response to that "ardour" given by faith that he said he felt in every fibre of his body debilitated by six years of illness.

His story - which in some ways is reminiscent of that of another young man passionate about Christ, Blessed Carlo Acutis - reached the Pope's hands during the flight to Lisbon, thanks to Eva Fernández, a well-known journalist of the Spanish broadcaster Radio Cope, which in each Apostolic Journey stands out for its particular choice of gifts to be delivered to Pope Francis.

Something to remember for the funeral

This time it was more than a gift: it was the testimony of life and faith of a young man put black on white by himself lucidly and serenely. Pablo employed the same lucidity and serenity to design a keepsake for his funeral: a flowered cross with the inscription "A Tree of Eternal Life, a sign of hope because the author of Life rests there."

Pablo, born on 26 July 2001 in Salamanca, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma at the age of 16. It was a period of very hard trials, during which, however, he said he felt God's call to consecrated life and began to pray especially for the conversion of young people: "That they may know the love of God, manifested in Jesus in the Eucharist, and for the unity of the Church."

Encounter with Christ

In his letter to the Pope, he recounted the years of his illness: "I am aware that everything has a reason in God's plan. Between ups and downs, better and worse days, and with much purification through illness, today I look at my life and I can confess that I have been and am happy."

"I have discovered," the young man continued, "that the centre of my life is not illness, but Christ. As I told my friends, my family, my Carmelite brothers: 'Through suffering in sickness I have met God, and through death in sickness I will go to Him. And for this I thank Him.'"

In prayer, from the hospital or from Heaven

In another part of the letter delivered to the Pope, Pablo wrote that he would have loved to participate "in the WYD in Lisbon with you and with so many young people from all over the world."

"I know from experience," it reads, "that no one can extinguish the inner fire that a young person in love with Jesus can have."

"I pray to the Lord that this fire of God's love burns in Lisbon, and how I would like young people to know Jesus, my Beloved! He has given me so much, consoled me so much, made me so happy! Physically I am without strength, but the communion of saints will allow me to participate with you in a deeper way and not less."