Mother: Pope’s blessing of special needs daughter recognizes ‘segment of humanity often set aside’
Pope Leo XIV blessed 10-year-old Marie-Garance Noël, who has multiple disabilities, as he passed through Paris before celebrating Mass at Place de la Concorde. Her adoptive mother, Clotilde Noël, said the moment represented vulnerable people who are often overlooked because they are different. Noël also saw the blessing as extending to Marie-Garance’s birth parents and to parents who choose to bring children with disabilities into the world. The Noël family has 10 children, including four adopted children, all of whom have disabilities.
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Pope Leo XIV’s encounters with two children with disabilities during his September visit to France drew attention to their families’ experiences and to the children’s place in their communities. In Paris, Marie-Garance Noël’s blessing became a public moment for her mother to recognize people with disabilities and families facing difficult care; in Lourdes, the blessing of Olivia Hamelin gave her father, he said, strength and hope. 2
On Sept. 26, as the pope traveled along the Champs-Élysées before Mass at Place de la Concorde, a police officer lifted 10-year-old Marie-Garance so Leo could bless her. A photograph of the encounter circulated widely, showing the pope leaning toward her and taking her hand.
Marie-Garance has multiple disabilities, including schizoencephaly, a rare brain malformation, and West syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. Her medical needs were considered so extensive that, according to her adoptive mother, Clotilde Noël, social services struggled to find a family for her; an Aleteia account also reports that her foster carer advocated for her to be considered for adoption. 1
The Noëls adopted Marie-Garance after first adopting Marie, who has Down syndrome. Their family includes 10 children, four adopted, and Noël said the adopted children have disabilities; she described caring for them as a vocation within her marriage and said they had taught the family patience and attention to everyday life.
Noël said she understood Marie-Garance’s blessing as extending beyond her family to people with disabilities who are often overlooked, as well as to the girl’s biological parents and other parents facing difficult circumstances. She also recalled the pope’s homily referring to families who persevere through daily hardship, and said the encounter offered comfort to parents whose lives are painful.
The Aleteia account adds that Marie-Garance’s foster carer came to know her as a child, rather than only through her medical file, and pressed for her to have a family. It also recounts Noël’s description of Marie-Garance laughing when her father tickled her, and her comment that she is “only a bridge” between the girl’s biological parents and the life she has now. 1
The second encounter took place Sept. 27, when Leo met sick people and caregivers at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. After addressing the gathering, which included about 5,000 people, he went into the crowd to greet sick and disabled pilgrims and blessed several people, including 3-year-old Olivia Hamelin. 2
Olivia has CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a rare neurological condition that affects brain development and causes severe epilepsy, and may affect movement and speech. Her father, Alexandre Hamelin, said learning that the condition was not degenerative brought the family relief, and that the pope’s blessing gave them “strength and hope” for her future. 2
The Hamelin family traveled nearly four hours from Périgueux to Lourdes for the visit. Olivia’s baby brother, Raphaël, was also blessed; Hamelin said the family’s faith had become more important through Olivia’s illness and that they see her as a blessing who brings joy and teaches others patience, kindness, and acceptance. 2
The inherent dignity and inclusion of persons with disabilities
In Catholic teaching, the dignity of persons with disabilities is inherent: it does not depend on physical or mental ability, independence, productivity, or capacity to communicate. Every person is willed and loved by God, and possesses the same fundamental dignity and rights as anyone else.
That dignity calls for more than kindness or protection. The Church and society should remove barriers and enable people with disabilities to participate actively—in family, work, education, community life, and the Church—according to each person’s gifts and circumstances. They are not merely recipients of care; they are members who can contribute to the good of the whole community.
Inclusion also means belonging: welcoming people into relationships and community life, responding to bodily, psychological, social, and spiritual needs, and making pastoral life accessible. Pope Francis cautions that inclusion is not just a slogan; it must be evident in ordinary practices, including accessible meeting places and liturgies in which people with disabilities can participate.
The Christian response, then, is to reject marginalization and discrimination, and to build communities where every person is recognized, welcomed, and able to share their gifts. The measure is not whether someone meets society’s standards of efficiency, but whether the community honors the dignity God gives to each person.