A Toronto councillor had a holy experience on Wednesday. It’s no surprise that he was a few thousand miles from City Hall when it happened.
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34 Don Valley East) posted this photo of Pope Francis to his twitter feed today, along with the message “My family meets Papa Francisco at Vatican today. How cool is that!”
The newly-elected pope was holding his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
According to staff in Minnan-Wong’s office, the councillor, who is Roman Catholic, is currently travelling in Europe with his wife and two young children. He is expected to return on May 29.
His staff stressed that the trip was planned some time ago but conceded that he will have to miss some events at City Hall that he would have liked to be there for.
He will be absent for next Tuesday’s special council meeting on bringing a new casino to Toronto, a proposal that he is strongly against.
While he is a devout Christian, Minnan-Wong has suggested that his faith doesn’t directly influence his policy decisions. On April 9, when a Toronto Star reporter appeared to draw a connection between his opposition to the casino plan and his Catholicism on Twitter, Minnan-Wong objected.
He tweeted back: “I’m a Roman Catholic and my decision is based on input from my community and my values. It is not religious based.”
