VATICAN CITY, ITALY

Pope Francis has hosted some of the world’s most powerful and influential people at the Vatican. Yet the day Spider-Man met the Pope was certainly one of the most interesting meetings ever held in the Holy City. The world was moved to ask: who was the man behind the mask?

Mattia Villardita met the Pope in the courtyard of San Damaso in honour of his volunteer work entertaining children in hospitals, including those at the Vatican’s own hospital. A former paediatric patient himself, Villardita said: “I know very well first-hand what it feels like to be inside a hospital ward, and the pain that the families feel.”

Before COVID hit, he would visit sick children in his costume, bringing smiles to their faces. During Italy’s pandemic lockdown, the 28-year-old estimates he made over 1,400 video calls to cheer up the hospitalised children he was not able to visit in person.

The costume doesn’t allow him to carry much on his person, but he gave Pope Francis a spare Spider-Man mask: as a sign, he said, “to tell him that through these eyes I daily see pain from sick children in hospitals. I asked him if he could please really pray for the children who are suffering a lot in cancer hospitals during these times.”

The Pope reportedly remained calm and composed during the meeting. The Vatican later described Villardita as a “really good super hero”.

Meanwhile, Villardita was surprised by the world’s reaction to the meeting: “I expected that this meeting could spark curiosity, but not that it would go all over the world.”

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Launching its Supermarket Heroes campaign, Best Foods New Zealand called on Kiwis to nominate supermarket workers who have “gone the extra mile during COVID-19”. mindfood.com/hero-workers