The best birthday present for Antonietta Porqueddu on her 104th birthday was quite unexpected: a call from Pope Francis.
"How are you Mrs. Nietta?" asked the Holy Father. "So-so," she replied. Just a few words were enough to bring a lot of happiness to a woman who has made prayer her daily life for 104 years, reported La Nuova.
The now famous resident of Thiesi was born October 31, 1917. She was the oldest of five, and always lived with her older sister in the family home in the center of town, next to Santa Vittoria church.
Her nieces Lucia and Angela describe her as "a woman of great faith."
"After two years of social distancing due to the pandemic, we are really happy to embrace her again," they commented, having arrived from Rome for the celebration.
La Nuova notes that Antonietta is much beloved in the care home where she lives. She has a joke always at the ready and attributes the aches and pains she suffers to many hard hours of work in the olive harvest.
On Sunday, Antonietta blew out her "104" candle, surrounded by nieces and nephews, the mayor, and the parish priest Don Luigi. And the personal greetings of the Holy Father: "I wish you a happy birthday. I pray for you and you pray for me."
