Editor’s note: This article was originally published Sept. 25, 2015. Pope Francis died Monday at the age of 88 after serving since 2013 as the head of the Catholic Church.
Jeff Thompson said he didn’t plan to plant a kiss on the side of Pope Francis’ head as His Holiness walked by Wednesday morning.
“The emotions overcame me,” said Thompson, a religious teacher at The Heights School, a Potomac Catholic school.
“My intention was just to tell him, ‘Welcome to America. We love you,’” Thompson said. “What better way to do that than to give him a kiss?”
The moment, captured by photographer Molly Riley and distributed by news agency Agence France-Press and partner Getty Images, made Thompson’s face famous worldwide.
The caption didn’t include Thompson’s name, but family members and friends quickly recognized him and began sending him word of how far the photo spread.
The kiss appeared on the front page of the Huffington Post website, in The Washington Post, in newspapers in Spain, Portugal and Nicaragua and even on a local newscast in Manchester, New Hampshire, near where Thompson played college basketball for Southern New Hampshire University.
By the end of the day, Thompson had gone viral. At back-to-school night Thursday at The Heights School, he was being treated like a rock star.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Thompson said. “My gosh, what an opportunity.”
The Bethesda native has taught at The Heights School since 2002. The grades three to 12 all-boys school was given 10 tickets to greet Pope Francis outside the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States before the pope made his way to the White House.
With nine students in tow, Thompson waited to get a glimpse.
He said kids all around him were screaming as the pope walked by. As Pope Francis was about five feet away, Thompson said he began speaking the little Spanish he knows. The pope responded in English, “Please pray for me.”
Thompson said he responded, “Siempre, siempre,” meaning, “Always, always.”
That’s when Pope Francis approached Thompson and Thompson stretched out his arms for a hug. Thompson said it felt right to add on a kiss.
Some of the pope’s bodyguards approached Thompson as the hug happened. One of the bodyguards can be seen reaching toward Thompson in the photo. Thompson said the man told him to step back, but let him go once it was clear he wasn’t a threat.
“I said to a little kid next to me, ‘That was very cool,’” Thompson remembered. “The kid said, ‘Yeah, look at all those snipers on the roof looking at you.’”
As was the case with students and teachers at many area Catholic schools, the pope’s visit to Washington, D.C., earlier this week was cause for a major celebration.
Thompson, who lives in Reston, said he watched the pope’s entire visit closely, including his speech to Congress and departure to New York City.
“I’ve got a great memory, that’s for sure,” Thompson said.
