On the march for road safety, the father of little Manuela, victim of an accident in 1998, was in the Vatican on 24 October. “It was a unique emotion”
SAN FIOR. «Manuela embraces everyone. Embrace Pope Francis, all the other friends who have supported me in this marathon for life, but also in the many other initiatives promoted over the years, the many associations that have been activated ».
Like this Andrea Dan, after listening to Bergoglio’s post-Angelus.
From the balcony of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis launched a “salute to the Treviso-Rome marathon on Sunday 24 October”.
He did not mention Andrea Dan, the protagonist of the event, as he never does in his greetings after the recitation of the Marian prayer. But that quote was enough for Dan to be moved and allow himself a few tears.
Manuela is his daughter, who died in a car accident at the age of 6, in 1998. Since then Dan hasn’t stopped fighting for road safety.
Little Manuela Dan died in a car accident in February 1998
On the 26th morning he will tell his story and his friends’ story at the Vatican Television Center, which will then spread the testimony all over the world. 700 kilometers on foot, from Treviso to the capital. Two months of slow steps, sometimes in a hurry.
«I did not imagine the pope’s blessing, because this is how I interpret his greeting», he says, «for the 4,200 road deaths in the last 6 years alone; 9 deaths a day, one massacre».
He left Treviso on August 31 with one goal: to raise awareness of prevention. In recent weeks, Dan, president of the Manuela Safety Road Association, has knocked on the doors of all institutions. He met Gianni Letta and wrote to Prime Minister Draghi, who replied. Now he will return to San Fior.
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