Pope Francis blesses 5-year-old girl on the verge of blindness

'I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.'

Little Lizzy Myers was diagnosed with Usher's Syndrome Type II. At only five-years-old, Lizzy has already begun to suffer bi-lateral hearing loss and the disease will eventually rob her entirely of both her hearing and sight.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - When Lizzy's parents discovered their daughter was suffering from Usher's Syndrome, they decided to make a "visual Bucket List." 

Her father, Steve Myers, stated, "I feel like I have very little time to show her so much."

Her mother, Christine Myers, added, "like bonfires and fireflies."

The general manager of Turkish Airlines heard Lizzy's story and offered the family free plane tickets anywhere in the world, so the Myers' decided to plan a trip to Rome. When Lizzy heard the news, she asked if she could knock on the Pope's door. 

Little did they know, they would have an opportunity to come face-to-face with the Pontiff himself.

The Myers' and their daughters, Lizzy and 3-year-old Micahela, were given special seats for the Pope's general audience on Wednesday.

When His Holiness came to Lizzy, she gave him the gift of a piece of a meteorite from an observatory she recently visited before he hugged her and blessed her eyes.

"I felt an overwhelming sense of peace" Christine later shared at a press conference. "Since the beginning of all of this, this is the first time I have felt peace."

Christine continued, explaining Lizzy was "awestruck. She just stared at him, she had totally big eyes."

Steve Myers said he was nervous prior to the meeting, but the pontiff's presence calmed him entirely.

"I was very nervous coming up to that point, I started having stomach pains. But as soon as Pope Francis came up to where Lizzy was, a calm came over me, I don't even know how to explain it. I believe and I think that what Pope Francis has done for her - if there's any chance for a miracle, it would be there."

Lizzy, who is too young to understand Pope Francis' role in the Catholic Church, simply calls him the "big guy in the white hat" and was excited to meet him.

Unfortunately, she remains unaware of her condition.

The visual bucket list her parents concocted includes a variety of everyday sights and activities, such as catching fireflies, roasting s'mores over a bonfire and flying a kite.

The Myers' hope their daughter's story will encourage other parents with children suffering bi-lateral hearing loss to genetically test their children for Usher II Syndrome and offer as many visual experiences as they can before the disease takes its toll.

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