Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut gives Pope Francis famous Napalm Girl picture
- Ut and Kim Phuc Phan Thi, the then nine-year-old girl whose terror was captured in the iconic Vietnam war image, met the pontiff in St Peter’s Square
- The two were in Italy to open an exhibit of Ut’s photographs in Milan ahead of the 50th anniversary of ‘Napalm Girl’
Ut and Kim Phuc Phan Thi, whose terror the photographer captured on June 8, 1972 during the Vietnam war, greeted Francis at the end of his general audience Wednesday in St Peter’s Square, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the iconic image.
Kim Phuc, who later resettled in Canada and raised a family there, had met Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – as Francis was known then – several years ago in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she had travelled as part of her work as a goodwill ambassador for the UN culture agency.
“He looked at the picture and remembered her right away,” Ut said in the piazza moments after the encounter.
Kim Phuc said she was not sure Francis would remember her, given the hundreds of people he meets every day.
“But he remembered very well. He said ‘I remember you, I know you. Do you remember we met each other in Buenos Aires?’ and I said ‘Yes I do. I said ‘God bless you with good health and for all you have done for peace.’”