DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The moment was small, intimate, and electric: a young Filipino Swiss guard, grinning proudly, introducing his father and stepmother to Pope Francis. The late pontiff leaned in, smiling, while a camera clicked.

For Diomedes “Brady” Eviota, a former journalist from Mindanao, and his wife Teresa, it was the crowning moment of a journey that started in predominantly Catholic Mindanao, and ended in the private chambers of the Vatican.

They had been granted a private audience with the late Pope Francis after their son, 26-year-old Sebastian “Baste” Eviota, made history as the first full-blooded Filipino to serve as a member of the Vatican’s centuries-old Swiss Guard.

“When we came to meet him, we were surprised to see that he was a big person. But when I took his hand to kiss as a sign of respect, I thought I was holding the hand of a small child, very much like the revered Santo Niño (Child Jesus). I don’t know if it’s supernatural or some sort of mythical power, but that’s exactly what my wife also told me later after our meeting with the Pope,” Brady said.

The encounter, captured in a photo shared posted online, tells a story beyond the frame: a Filipino family’s unlikely journey into the beating heart of Catholic tradition.

A life changed

The Eviotas’ path to that meeting wasn’t scripted. Brady lost his first wife, fellow journalist Editha Eco, when Baste was just a baby whom he raised as a single father. 

Years later, an old classmate, Teresa, reappeared in his life, visiting from Switzerland. They married, and Brady brought his children along when he migrated, unwilling to leave them behind. The family eventually became Swiss citizens, building a new life far from Surigao’s familiar shores.

It was in Switzerland where Baste would find his calling in 2022. Brady said Baste had known about the recruitment of Papal Swiss Guard through a post on the internet.

To qualify for the Vatican’s Swiss Guard, a group tasked with protecting the Pope, candidates must be Swiss citizens, Catholic, single, and have military training.

Baste ticked every box. He had already served with the Swiss Army when the Vatican opportunity came along.

Still, the call to uniform ran deeper than duty. “We believe it was through Baste’s late grandfather, my very own father, a retired judge in our hometown who gave the inspiration.

My father loved to talk to his grandson about World War history and his personal experience about the second World War. It certainly wasn’t from me, for I was a professional journalist as was his late mom,” Brady said.

Pride and sacrifice

Joining the Swiss Guard was no mere posting; it was a commitment of personal sacrifice and years of service. Yet for the Eviotas, it was also a profound point of pride.

“We are very proud of him for being the first full-blooded Filipino to have joined the Papal guards,” he said.

Though there had been a half-Filipino Swiss Guard before, Baste was the first to bring full Filipino heritage into the Vatican’s ancient corps.

Now, after completing his initial two-year service, Baste faces a choice. But according to his father, his heart still leans toward Rome.

“I guess he is keen to continue to serve the Papal Swiss Guard, because the last time we talked, Baste said he wanted to experience the Great Jubilee in the Vatican, which takes place and is celebrated every 25 years. It brings in thousands of Catholic devotees across the globe in attendance,” he said.

For Brady, the meeting with the Pope – that moment when a large man offered a hand as light as a child’s – remains a touchstone.

In the end, it wasn’t about the medals, the uniforms, or the grandeur of Saint Peter’s Basilica. It was about faith, family, and a quiet sense that sometimes, miracles don’t shout. They smile.

Wave of emotions

Beyond the walls of the Vatican, a different but equally powerful wave of emotions swept across Italy.

“There is a sense of national mourning,” said overseas Filipino worker Elmer Orillo, a religious community organizer based in Sardinia, Italy, for the past two decades.

Orillo and his wife, Amy, had also been granted the rare honor of meeting Pope Francis in private years ago during a gathering of youth representatives.

“It was memorable, for I had not only kissed the hand of the Pope, but had also kissed his cheek,” Orillo recalled. 

“When I returned to a convent, where I and my wife had worked, the priests and nuns had known about our close encounter with the Pope, that they began to shake my hand and even cried. Not everyone, even from a religious community, is fortunate to have that close encounter with a Pope,” he said.

Even among the faithful, such precious moments remained elusive. Orillo said his elder brother, a parish priest in their home province of Camarines Sur who frequently visited the Vatican, had made four attempts to meet the Pope up close but was never as fortunate.

For families like the Eviotas and the Orillos, the loss of Pope Francis was deeply personal and meant the fading of a connection made in fleeting but unforgettable moments, stitched into the story of their lives. – Rappler.com