Who was the spider man who met Pope Francis?
Images quickly went viral around the world. They showed an audience of Pope Francis at the Vatican this week, with an unusual participant in the crowd: Spider-Man. But it was not Peter Parker behind the mask, it was Mattia Villardita, a 28-year-old worker in the port of Savona who voluntarily entertained children in hospitals in superhero costume during his spare time. The idea arose from personal experience. Villardita was a patient at the Gaslini Pediatric Hospital in Genoa until the age of 19, due to a birth condition that required multiple surgeries. I know very well how it feels to be inside a hospital ward and the pain families feel, Villardita told The Irish Times. He chose Spider-Man as a character he liked from cartoons as a child and for whom he liked both adults and children. Peter Parker is a good-hearted guy, he is humble, friends and family are important to him, and he remains that way even after receiving his superpowers, he said. Villardita was in Rome to do an event at the Agostino Gemelli Hospital, the largest in Rome, at the invitation of the police, who had arranged the audience with Pope Francis to express their gratitude. This led to surreal scenes as Spider-Man in convincing costume sat in silence, listening as Pope Francis gave his homily, accompanied by parishioners and solemn priests. Mattia Villardita dressed in a Spider-Man costume awaiting the arrival of the Popes in the courtyard of San Damaso in the Vatican. Photos: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP via Getty    Still in full costume, Villardita then met Pope Francis, who asked her if she would take some pictures with some of the children present in the Vatican courtyard. I gave him a mask I no longer use, symbolically. I said these words: through those eyes, the eyes of the mask, I see a lot of suffering every day in these children. I asked him if he could really pray for the children who suffer so much in cancer hospitals during these times, Villardita said. I think he knew in advance who I was, I think they should have told him. Because anyway, there is a security issue with a person inside the Vatican walls in a costume that makes him anonymous. It was not the first time Villardita found herself in a company set up. In December, he received a phone call from the Italian presidency informing him that he would become the Knight of the Republic, a civilian honor. This was due to his volunteer work during the pandemic. At a time when Italy was experiencing an overwhelmingly high number of deaths every day and people were locked in their homes, Villardita moved his volunteer work online. He organized video calls with pediatric patients like Spider-Man, distributed Spidey pizzas to those being treated, and set up a play area for children at his hometown hospital. Mattia Villardita and Pope Francis: I asked him if he could really pray for the children who suffer so much in cancer hospitals. Photos: Giuseppe Lami / EPA    The costume does not allow him to carry many personal items, and Villardita went straight to the hospital event after the papal audience, so he was aware for some time that his image had been ricochetted across the globe. To be honest, I expected this meeting to spark curiosity, but not that it would go all over the world, said Villardita. I did not have my phone set all day, but then when I saw the photos it actually looked almost like a movie. A basis for a Marvel movie, in which Holy Father was also the protagonist.