Selfie with the Pope

Snap happy duo

A young couple have secured the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime selfie.

Aidan Curivan and Rebecca Lafferty were lucky enough to snap a picture with none other than Pope Francis.

The pair – who are fundraisers with Lanarkshire charity Project Gambia: People Feeding People – were on a fiveday trip to Rome when they attended the papal audience last week (Wednesday, January 15) in the Vatican City.

Following the Holy Father’s speech and prayers, Aidan, of Uddingston, and Rebecca, of Bellshill, were elated to receive an invite to meet the man himself.

And for Aidan, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday on Wednesday, it was the ultimate gift.

The former pupil of Holy Cross High

School, Hamilton, said: “Our meeting was brief but absolutely amazing.

“We’ll never forget the day we met Pope Francis and it’s great that we have the photographic proof.”

For Project Gambia aid workers Aidan and Rebecca, it was particularly significant to receive this audience with the Pope, as the foundations of the charity lie firmly in the Catholic faith, with funding coming primarily from the Catholic parishes.

Rebecca, 19, a former Taylor High School pupil, said: “We were both delighted and humbled to be given the opportunity to meet His Holiness, Pope Francis, at the Vatican this past week. On a personal level, it is something, as Catholics, that we have always wanted to be given the chance to do.

“For Project Gambia, this recognition is especially significant as it comes following a tremendous level of support we have received from our local Catholic Church.”

Frank Devine, co-founder of Project Gambia, said: “We are delighted that Aidan and Rebecca were able to meet the Holy Father, Pope Francis, following the papal audience in Vatican City.

“This is so well-deserved given the amazing work both of these young people do for other young people in The Gambia who have nothing or next to nothing in material things. Well done to them both.”

Project Gambia was set up to support St John’s School for the Deaf in the Serrekunda region of the Gambia, one of the only schools for deaf children in one of Africa’s poorest countries.

Through providing school meals, uniforms and schoolbags to the children over the past seven years, they have been able to increase the attendance and success of the pupils. Last year, they were able to take on two additional schools in The Gambia – St Patrick’s Lower Basic School and St Joseph’s Nursery School – increasing their support to over 1000 of the world’s most disadvantaged and marginalised children.

For more information on the charity visit www.facebook. com/project gambiapeople feeding people/

We’ll never forget the day we met Pope Francis and it’s great we have the photographic proof