Last November, I helped produce one of the videos created by the Pontifical Dicastery for Laity and Family Life for the #IAmChurch campaign. That's when I met Vittorio Scelzo, who was overseeing the initiative for the dicastery. It was a day full of surprises and emotion—my first time as the main subject of a video! I was interviewed alongside Federico Fucili, a friend from my community.
I thought the excitement would end there. But a few days later, Cristina Tersigni from Ombre e Luci reached out with an unexpected request: they wanted me to give testimony at the presentation of Pope Francis's message for the Day of Persons with Disabilities. We read the Pope's message together in advance, then crafted a reflection that connected my own experience to what he had written. The event took place at the Vatican Press Office. It was truly an honor and deeply moving—I had never before represented my brothers and sisters with disabilities in a setting like this. After fielding questions from two foreign journalists, Cristina interviewed me as well, right there in St. Peter's Square.