'Miracle' baby with brain tumour makes progress after being kissed by Pope

This is the moment last September when Gianna Masciantonio, terminally ill with a brain tumour, was kissed on the head outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia by Pope Francis.

More than six months later, Gianna is not only still alive, she is much improved.

Her family refuse to talk of a "miracle", but that does not stop others from doing so.

Soon after she was born, Gianna was diagnosed with juvenile xanthogranuloma, a rare brain stem tumour.

Security services helped her family obtain passes so they could meet the Pope when he visited Philadelphia last year. When her father passed her up to him as he passed for a blessing, the Pope stopped and kissed her on the back of her head, close to the site of the tumour.

Just weeks later, a scan showed the tumour seemed to have shrunk.

The family do not claim a miraculous healing but do talk of how the Pope's kiss brought them hope.

"It gave us strength," her father Joey Masciantonio told Eyewitness News. "That kiss meant more to my family than anyone could ever imagine, "

The Pope has asked to be kept in touch with her progress and has signed a photograph of him kissing Gianna.

And only this week, as the city continues to take the family to its heart, Gianna's brother Dominic, aged five, was sworn in as an honorary deputy marshall for a day.

It was FBI Special Agent Don Asper who helped the family catch the Pope's attention in Market Street.

"No one there on the street knew anything was wrong with Gianna. They didn't know her condition. The Pope certainly didn't know that she had an inoperable brain tumour," Asper told Eyewitness.

Gianna is currently coming to the end of her latest chemotherapy. 

" data-caption="null" data-credit="null">
related articles
Pope Francis performs \'half miracle\' in Naples by turning blood into liquid
Pope Francis performs 'half miracle' in Naples by turning blood into liquid

Pope Francis has supposedly performed a "half miracle" during his visit to Naples Cathedral in Italy on Saturday by turning dry blood into liquid.

Divine intervention\': Pope Francis heals baby with holes in her heart, parents say
Divine intervention': Pope Francis heals baby with holes in her heart, parents say

Pope Francis reportedly healed a three-month old infant who has a heart ailment during the pontiff's canonization of John Paul II and John XXII in Vatican last year.

Another Pope Francis miracle: Paralyzed girl set to junk wheelchair and walk again
Another Pope Francis miracle: Paralyzed girl set to junk wheelchair and walk again

Pope Francis may yet earn the accolade "The Healing Pope" for the miracles he has been performing with his hands when touching people with serious health problems.

Pope Francis shows his healing power once again: New Jersey girl, 12, now cancer-free after he kissed her
Pope Francis shows his healing power once again: New Jersey girl, 12, now cancer-free after he kissed her

Pope Francis did it again. The head of the Roman Catholic Church just gave a 12-year-old girl from New Jersey, U.S.A. the best Christmas gift ever that anyone can receive—the gift of healing.

News
Faith in difficult times: lessons from 1930s Britain
Faith in difficult times: lessons from 1930s Britain

Architectural historian Steven Brindle talks to Christian Today about the faith that shaped 1930s Britain, the churches that supported struggling communities and what lessons the decade might have for us today.

Campaign aims to mobilise 500,000 Christians for Christmas outreach
Campaign aims to mobilise 500,000 Christians for Christmas outreach

Shine Your Light is aiming to mobilise half a million Christians to share the gospel with five million people across the UK this Christmas, with more than 2,000 churches already signed up, organisers say.

The Church of England should repent for previous calls to ban 'conversion therapy'
The Church of England should repent for previous calls to ban 'conversion therapy'

The Church of England's uneasiness about the government's ‘conversion practices’ bill is a perfect lesson in the old adage, 'be careful what you wish for,' writes Dr Martin Davie.

Leaked Home Office report links 'Christian extremism' to traditionalist beliefs and immigration concerns
Leaked Home Office report links 'Christian extremism' to traditionalist beliefs and immigration concerns

An internal Home Office report lists concerns about immigration, multiculturalism and changing social values among the characteristics associated with what it calls "Christian extremism", it has been reported.