By Jay Sorgi
Special to The Texas Catholic
For Sean Myers, the Dallas-based national vice president of membership and leadership development for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a normal Friday morning at 11 a.m. can mean a meeting.
But Friday, Aug. 28, brought a blessedly abnormal 11 a.m. “board meeting.” It included Pope Leo XIV and took place inside the Sala del Concistoro at the Vatican, where the pope received the board for a private audience.
“We can’t stop talking about it,” said Myers, a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish.
In the presence of the pope, Myers said, the setting’s reverence became clear to him.
“I just became a lot more quiet and observant of where I was and really taking it all in, to be present in this moment,” he said.
The Chicago-born pope then gave Myers and his fellow board members a series of moments they will remember for a lifetime.
“He walked in the room, and you’re catching your breath, and he immediately said, ‘Let us bow our heads in prayer,’” Myers said. “He prayed over us and offered a blessing to us.”
Pope Leo XIV then shared prepared words of encouragement and challenged the board to live out the organization’s mission of deeper charity. Myers described the pope’s combination of warmth and calm as “beautiful.”
“I thank you in particular for your devoted service to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and through it, to your brothers and sisters across the United States of America,” Pope Leo XIV told Myers and his fellow board members.
“St. Augustine taught the Christocentric nature of care for the poor and held that God will not be outdone in generosity to those who serve them,” the pope added. “We therefore believe that caring for others, when motivated by love, not only helps those in need but also opens the heart of the giver to God’s grace.”
Myers said each person received a short one-on-one conversation with the Holy Father.
“Looking into his eyes, you could (encounter) the reverence of who he is as pope. (I was) able to bring my prayers and bring everything to him, and make sure he knew that we are all praying for him as well.”
Luis Gonzalez, CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas, said he has seen how Myers — his friend of five years in ministry — lives out the kind of open-hearted, faithful giving that he encourages in others.
“When Sean told me that he was going to have this opportunity, I coined the phrase, ‘I have holy jealousy towards you,’” Gonzalez said with a laugh.
“(It) gives me goosebumps to hear the words of the Holy Father talking about the society and the work that we do — encountering Christ in the poor and being his hands and feet,” Gonzalez said. “It’s such an opportunity to make present charity in the world.”
Myers is now carrying what he called a “spiritual fire that burns within you” into ministries such as the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, which provides free or low-cost medicine to people in need. Myers oversees the campaign.
He said he will continue to foster in those ministries the same humility and faithfulness the Holy Father personally shared with Myers on that day to remember.
“The warmth, it is his essence,” Myers said, “and man, does the Church need that.”
Cutline for featured image: Pope Leo XIV greets Sean Myers, right, national vice president of membership and leadership development for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in the Sala del Concistoro at the Vatican during a private audience with a delegation of U.S. members of SVdP on Aug. 28. Myers is a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish. (Courtesy photo)
