'Donal would be proud' - Pope Leo's incredible gesture to Irish teen Donal Walsh days before death

In an incredible development, it turns out Pope Leo XIV has a very special connection to Ireland through the Kerry teenager Donal Walsh who passed away in May 2013 from terminal cancer.

Prior to being elected pope, Pope Leo made Donal an honorary member of the Augustinian religious order in recognition of his work to raise awareness for sick children and families in hospital as well as the newspaper articles and letters he wrote in which he urged people to appreciate life as he faced the end of his.

The 16-year-old captivated the public's attention by appearing on the Saturday Night Show with Brendan O'Connor in 2013 where he explained his frustration with young people taking their lives while others fought for theirs. People across the country were struck by the deeply emotional interview and praised the young man for his bravery.

Donal had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, when he was just 12-years-old. This was the third time he had been told he had cancer in his short life. He sadly passed away on 12 May, 2013, just one month before his 17th birthday. 

The young man left an incredible legacy and even managed to raise €50,000 for Crumlin Hospital. Now, his legacy is being revisited since the election of Pope Leo.

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Donal's Catholic faith was very important to him and he spoke a lot about his relationship with God in his letters before he died. His uncle, Father Michael Walsh, also happened to be an Augustinian priest as was Pope Leo at the time.

Before he passed away, Donal had wrote an inspiring article in the Sunday Independent and his uncle showed Pope Leo, the then Father Robert Prevost. He was so blown-away by the 16-year-old's article and decided to write to Donal and offer him the honorary recognition. 

Donal accepted the recognition and was sworn in on 10 May, 2013, just two days before he passed away. 

Interestingly, it was announced that Pope Leo was actually elected on 8 May which also happened to coincide with Donal Walsh Day which is one of the biggest annual youth faith events in Europe and is held the Thursday closest to Donal's anniversary every year.

Donal's family were at the event to honour Donal at Knock Shrine when they heard the news that Pope Leo had been elected.

Speaking about the connection between Donal and the new Pope, Donal's father Fionnbar previously told the Irish Independent: "It was just so surprising that the same person who wrote that letter to Donal is now the Pope. It’s just so nice, it’s another connection to Donal. I think Donal would be very proud."