New Mexico nuns invite Pope Francis to visit special needs children

Three Southern New Mexico nuns are inviting Pope Francis to visit their special needs clinic during his historic trip to Juarez on February 17 .

Three times a week Sister Peggy, Carol and Janet travel from Anthony, New Mexico across the border to tend to children and parents at the clinic, “Proyecto Nino.” Sister Peggy Deneweth tells ABC-7 the children suffer from cerebral palsy and other debilitating conditions.

She says inviting Pope Francis started off as just a fun idea. But on a trip to Rome late last year, she had the opportunity to sit next to a Cardinal who works for the Pope’s communication office. She handed him a letter inviting the Pope to visit Proyecto Santo Nino and he said he would personally deliver it to him.

The letter reads:

Dear Pope Francis,

“Proyecto Santo Nino is a day program for children with special needs and their families, located in the colonia of Anapra on the car western edge of Ciudad Juarez. The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati work with the mothers of the children and other volunteers to create a place of love, healing and hope. We have heard your call to be a Church that goes out of the peripheries to serve the most marginalized and forgotten! We know that you have a special love for children with special needs! We know that you love American Sisters, too! So we have great hope that you will come visit us at Proyecto Santo Nino when you are in Ciudad Juarez on February 17 , 2016!”

Deneweth tells ABC-7 the children and parents in Juarez have made videos and posted them on Twitter inviting Pope Francis to visit. She says she has hope they will hear back soon. You can view their videos on Twitter @proysantonino

Deneweth says there are no plans for the children to attend his mass, but she is hopeful some of the parents may be able to.