Street kid now in college recalls encounter with Pope Francis
Jun Chura, a second-year college student at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), was enjoying the last day of the Holy Week break before classes resumed on Tuesday. He was doomscrolling that Monday when he read the news of Pope Francis’ death.
The 23-year-old did not believe the news at first, although he had been following developments regarding the Holy Father’s health—from the time he was hospitalized on Feb. 14 to his discharge more than a month later until his last public appearance on Easter Sunday.
But when he read more posts that indeed Pope Francis had died, he realized it was true.
“I was just frozen in disbelief,” Chura recalled to the Inquirer. “It was as if an important part of me had also died. All the memories I had with him 10 years ago flashed before my eyes. And I realized I was fortunate that I was able to meet him and hug him—I had been blessed from then on.”
Chura and Glyzelle Palomar were the two street children among the four youths who gave their messages to Pope Francis during the “Encounter with the Youth” at UST on Jan. 18, 2015, the fourth of the Pontiff’s five-day visit to the Philippines. The two kids were beneficiaries of Catholic Church-supported Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation.
Chura was only 9 years old when he and his younger brother ran away from home. His father was jailed at that time and his stepmother was neglecting their needs, he said.
Out on the streets for a year, he saw fellow street children getting addicted to drugs or getting high on “rugby” just to get the day by. Others resorted to stealing, prostitution and other means to survive. They were only fortunate because a street educator from Tulay ng Kabataan found them.
Seeing through tears
Chura’s harrowing experience along with Palomar’s probing questions—“Why does God allow us children to suffer even if we are not doing anything wrong? Why are only a few people helping us?”—prompted Pope Francis to set aside his prepared speech and give the children an impromptu message.
The Pope acknowledged that their questions were “deep down almost unanswerable.” But he reminded the faithful not to be afraid to shed tears amid their hardships, saying that “we can only see more clearly through eyes washed by tears.”
Chura admitted that, at that time, he did not understand what Pope Francis meant.
“I was too young back then and, to be honest, I was not good at understanding even the English translation of Pope Francis’ message in Spanish,” he recalled.
“But I understood everything after he embraced us. It was the hug of a father I had always longed for. It was warm and it reassured us that everything will be all right.”
In broadcasts of that visit, Chura could be seen smiling awkwardly, trying to comfort the crying Palomar. He was also filled with emotion but could not shed a tear—at least not yet.
“I promised myself when I left our home that I would not cry until I could meet my mother again,” he said.
Helping other street kids
After that encounter with the Pope, Chura said something in him changed deeply.
“Pope Francis left a lasting impact on me. I became closer to God. I pray and read the Bible diligently. I study very hard. I feel blessed but I want to prove that I am worthy of being blessed. And I want to share this blessing with other people, especially my family and other street children,” he said.
In June that year, months after the Pope’s visit, Chura had another blessing—the Archdiocese of Manila agreed to shoulder his education from high school until his graduation from college.
Chura said he never saw himself as a student enrolled at UST.
“It is a school only for the rich and the smart ones. At that time, I did not think that I deserved to be there,” he said.
He finished high school in 2023 and is now completing a degree in mathematics.
Chura still lives at a shelter of Tulay ng Kabataan. In his free time, he and other college students help impart their education, teaching the growing number of children also being helped by the foundation.
He said it was through God’s grace and his encounter with Pope Francis that he is finally closer to fulfilling his promise to the Holy Father—to finish his studies and help his family and other street children.
“A few more years, and hopefully I can become a teacher. I want to help my family get out of poverty, and I want to help other street children at Tulay ng Kabataan,” he said.
Reuniting with his mother
Chura had also been praying to God that he would finally meet his mother whom he had never seen.
After he joined group chats in 2019 with people who also had his surname, a woman messaged him who turned out to be his aunt, his mother’s sister.
Chura said his mother had also been looking for him for years.
Even if she had a new family, he said he was only “very happy” to be reconnected with her.
“She even told me that she watched Pope Francis’ visit on TV. She said she saw my face but did not know that I was her son.”
Chura said his encounter with Francis made his prayers more fervent and his yearning for her mother’s embrace stronger.
“I am thankful that I met Pope Francis. He changed the lives of many people, including me. I would not be where I want to be had I not met him.”
“It is just unfortunate that he will not be able to see me finish my studies as I had promised. I would have wanted to show him that the street kid that he met in 2015 is now doing well and thriving, that I am keeping my word to help other street children like me,” he said.
