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High school best friends Mitchelle Sequeira and Brenda Lobo D'souza were Grade 7 students of St Anne's High School in Mumbai, India, when they attended their first papal mass in 1986.
Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church and Vatican from 1978 to 2005, and he toured India from February 1 to 10 in 1986.
Back then, Mitchelle and Brenda considered themselves lucky to be among the hundreds of students selected to sing as part of the 'papal choir'.
"I won't forget the day we saw Pope John Paul II. Dressed in our grey school pinafore, red tie and white shirt, we performed at the Eucharistic Concelebration at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on February 9," Mitchelle told Khaleej Times.
"Exactly 33 years later, with our kids and parents by our side, Brenda and I will have the rare honour to witness a papal mass again, this time in our home - the UAE - and with Pope Francis," said Mitchelle, a Dubai-based educator at Raffles International School.
Brenda, on the other hand, is an Abu Dhabi-based administration professional. Mitchelle and Brenda have been best friends for 33 years.
"We have been in the UAE for over 20 years. I moved 21 years ago and Mitchelle has been here for 23 years. We were friends in school, and we continue to be close friends to this date," said Brenda.
Mitchelle is a parishioner of St Mary's Catholic Church in Dubai while Brenda is a member of the Abu Dhabi Catholic congregation. The ladies have received their tickets and will be attending the papal mass in Abu Dhabi, along with their families.
"I plan to spend the night at Brenda's place, and drive to the stadium early next morning," said Mitchelle. As the historic papal mass draws closer, they couldn't help but remember how it felt to be in the presence of the pope.
"We will never forget the 1986 Eucharistic Concelebration. We saw Pope John Paul II up close, and we felt honoured to be part of that choir," said Brenda.
"Each school had 25 singers. Our parents were invited to the show, and they got special seats as well. We were so proud to be on that stage."
"On February 5, we will be outside the stadium as it would be difficult to be inside with small children," said Mitchelle, a mother of three-year-old twins Abigail and Melanie. The twins will also celebrate their third birthday on February 5, right on the day of the papal mass.
"This will be a memory we will carry till our very last breath," she said.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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