VATICAN CITY — On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis hugged and kissed a boy with cerebral palsy and that boy is from the United States.

The eight-year-old is the son of a Providence College theology professor who is teaching in Rome for the semester.

He said when they made their way through the crowd a nearby usher said he was determined to have the pope kiss the boy.

Everyone who witnessed it was deeply moved.

"A lady yelled out, you know your son is here to show us how to love. It was like a heaven sent confirmation to my wife of what she has long suspected and that is what Dominic’s purpose in life and that is to show people how to love," said Doctor Paul Gondreau.

Dominic has severe physical limitations but cognitively he is completely alert and dad says he is well aware of the enormity of the moment.