WORLD : Pope Welcomes Armless Calif. Guitar Player to the Vatican
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VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II welcomed to the Vatican today an armless guitarist who moved him to tears in Hollywood during his tour of the United States in 1987.
Tony Melendez, 27, who was born without arms, stole the show on Sept. 15, 1987, when he played the guitar with his bare feet and sang at a youth meeting with the Pope at Universal Studios.
The Pope, moved by Melendez’s determination to play music despite his handicap, jumped off the stage and with tears in his eyes embraced him--a photo that made the front pages of newspapers around the world.
Today, Melendez played for the Pope at his weekly general audience and gave him his autobiography and record albums. The pontiff embraced him.
Melendez was born without arms in Nicaragua as a result of his mother taking thalidomide, a drug prescribed for pregnant women that caused hundreds of children to be born deformed.
He was in Rome for an appearance on Italian television.
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