Pope meets with Betancourt

(September 02, 2008): -French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt described her meeting with Pope Benedict XVI as an "extraordinary experience." The Pope met on Monday with the former prisoner of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC for about 20 minutes at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo. Members of her family, including her mother Yolanda Pulecio, accompanied her.
Betancourt was a candidate for the Colombian presidency when she was kidnapped in 2002. During the politician's captivity, the Church in Colombia and the Holy See made several appeals for her release, as well as that of hundreds of other hostages being held by the rebel group.
Betancourt had expressed her wish to visit Pope Benedict since being rescued from the FARC on July 2. Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman told reporters on Monday after the meeting that her long imprisonment was a time of great spiritual experience, and of prayer, therefore, she wished to communicate to the Pope the importance that faith had in sustaining her. She wanted to thank him for his prayers, his closeness, for the various ways in which, the Pope had manifested his thoughts and spiritual support for all the hostages and, in particular, naturally, also for her," the spokesman added. The Papal spokesman also mentioned how Betancourt came to know about the Pope's prayer for her release, and “this hit her very profoundly.”
Betancourt recounted what her feelings were when she heard the voice of Pope Benedict mention her name during her imprisonment. She said - "While I was a prisoner in the jungle, one day we undertook a very hard and long march and we arrived very tired in the place where the camp was to be set up. I lay down in the hammock to rest with immense despair and sadness, and just then the radio broadcast the Pope's voice, who mentioned my name. I think it is difficult to explain the psychological effect on a prisoner. It was like a light of hope, and because of this, once free, I wanted to see him and embrace him as soon as possible,” she said.