A Collierville couple recall having their marriage blessed by Pope Benedict.

Met pope at Vatican Mass

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It was with a thrill of anticipation that Khira Rotty maneuvered herself, wrapped in her already worn wedding dress, into an Italian taxi on a frigid February morning in 2006. Derek Rotty — her tuxedoed husband of just four days — slid in behind her.

The Collierville couple’s Italian honeymoon was also a pilgrimage of sorts, arranged by Derek long before the wedding in hopes of attending Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday Mass.

His new wife was a lifelong Catholic, and he himself a recent convert, so Derek had written the letters, made the calls and, finally, gotten the tickets that would allow them to be among the handful of newlywed couples blessed by the pope each week.

That’s how they ended up outside The Vatican for two and a half hours in wedding clothes in a steady downpour, waiting.

“We were just miserable, save for the generosity of some Italians that gave us an umbrella that morning,” Derek said.

Another hour and a half passed after they were led into a special section for the newlyweds, standing shoulder to shoulder with nine similarly frocked couples from all over the world. And then, there he was. “Eight thousand people started shouting, ‘Benedicto! Benedicto!’ and people were shouting and pushing to touch his hand,” Khira said.

“He walked right up to us, and it was so exciting,” she said.

“At one point, both of my hands had both of his hands and he paused, and just looked at us with such a beautiful smile. I’ll never forget that moment.”

The only Italian word they knew was — thank you — so that’s what they said to the pope in exchange for his blessing.

That moment has been heavy on the hearts of both Derek and Khira Rotty since hearing news that Pope Benedict would officially retire on Thursday — the first pope in 600 years to do so.

“It’s going to be a kind of bittersweet day for us,” Khira said.

“He was a spiritual grandfather to me,” Derek added. “I have never known a Catholic Church without him.”

Although the Pontiff will step aside Thursday, he will forever remain a small part of the Rottys’ marriage.

“Amid all of the difficulties, the little things that happen in marriage, I think back to that moment with Pope Benedict,” Khira said. “It’s served as a constant reminder throughout our marriage that God wants nothing for us but to be holy and blessed.”