Groundbreaking Fil-Am armless pilot recalls special meeting with Benedict XVI

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As Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI is laid to rest, one Filipino American is remembering her special moment with him.

In 2011, groundbreaking pilot, motivational speaker, author, and filmmaker Jessica Cox met with the late pontiff at the Vatican.

"We are all very sad about the passing of Pope Benedict. I had this wonderful blessing, getting the chance to meet him during a trip to Rome so I feel especially connected to him. It hit many of us who have loved Pope Benedict. Many of us are obviously grieving for the loss," Cox said.

Cox was in Milan in 2011 to receive her Guinness World Record medal for being the first armless pilot. Days after the landmark moment, she was on a trip to the Vatican, where she chanced upon a papal mass.

"We didn’t necessarily plan to go to the papal blessing in St. Peter's Square but we made it a point to try and get tickets and we did, so we went to the front row," she shared.

"I talked to my brother and he said, 'what if you gave your Guinness World Record medal' which at the time, I just received it just days prior and I had it around my neck. And he said, 'what if you gave it to Pope Benedict. I'm like, I would love to give it to Pope Benedict. But I don’t know how we're going to arrange a meeting."

But in what she believes as an act of divine intervention, she and her family managed to make it to the stage right in front of Pope Benedict. She then gave the papal leader a very special token: her Guiness World Record medal.

"We, me and my sister happened to be the last two to greet Pope Benedict on that day. It was just the most unbelievable experience having this opportunity to tell him that I wanted him to have the Guinness World Record medal and to pass that on to him."

Cox added, "I wanted to express my gratitude for all the blessings in my life and what better way to do that than to give it to Pope Benedict."

Her gesture even made headlines in the local media. Shortly after, she received a thank-you note from the Vatican, and then found an even more personal connection to the pope.

"Later I found out that Pope Benedict was a former helicopter pilot. So his connection to aviation and the reason I have the record as the first armless pilot, that was such a beautiful connection that we had. I had no idea he was an aviator until then," Cox said.

"I also received a letter not too long after that and it was a thank-you letter from the pope's office."

Two years after their meeting, Benedict stepped down in 2013. Two years later, Cox found her way back to the Vatican for the Mirabile Dictu film festival, where she won for best documentary, another blessing in the home of the Holy Father.