Thousands
of people lined the streets for a brief glimpse of the 78-year-old
Argentine pontiff, who stood, smiled and waved from his shiny white
popemobile.
As
Francis drew nearer and nearer in his open-sided popemobile and the
crowd in Washington whooped, squealed and quivered, the little girl with
black pigtails spotted her chance. 
Her
name was Sofia Cruz, and her story soon went around the world: how a
five-year-old had the bravado to deliver a message to the pope on behalf
of the United States' millions of undocumented migrants.
In a flash, Sofia clambered over a metal barrier, darted out onto stately Constitution Avenue and headed straight for the pontiff - Secret Service agents be damned.
Guards nabbed her about half-way there, but the pope waved for them to bring her to him. For her trouble, she got a gentle hoist, a hug and a kiss from Pope Francis himself.
And as the crowd roared with surprise and excitement, Sofia slipped the pontiff her letter.
Born on US soil to Mexican parents, Sofia traveled across the country as part of a group of a dozen faithful, her father among them, from Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles parish in Los Angeles.
"She handed the pope a letter asking him to support the drive to legalize undocumented migrants living in the United States,"
Her
name was Sofia Cruz, and her story soon went around the world: how a
five-year-old had the bravado to deliver a message to the pope on behalf
of the United States' millions of undocumented migrants.In a flash, Sofia clambered over a metal barrier, darted out onto stately Constitution Avenue and headed straight for the pontiff - Secret Service agents be damned.
Guards nabbed her about half-way there, but the pope waved for them to bring her to him. For her trouble, she got a gentle hoist, a hug and a kiss from Pope Francis himself.
And as the crowd roared with surprise and excitement, Sofia slipped the pontiff her letter.
Born on US soil to Mexican parents, Sofia traveled across the country as part of a group of a dozen faithful, her father among them, from Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles parish in Los Angeles.
"She handed the pope a letter asking him to support the drive to legalize undocumented migrants living in the United States,"
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