Rio rico, AZ — It was almost a year ago that Miguel (Miky) Suarez, president of MAS Melons & Grapes, here, learned that Pope Francis would be visiting Philadelphia in late September 2015.

He immediately contacted his longtime friends, the Dandrea family, owners of Dandrea Produce Inc., in Vineland, NJ. “I told Ronnie [Dandrea, vice president of sales and operations at Dandrea], ‘I have got to be there!’ ” Suarez said. “I didn’t want to miss a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”Miky and Marina Suarez joined a million others in trying to get near the pope in Philadelphia. This close facsimile had to do.

The Dandreas are buyers of Mexican produce distributed by MAS Melons & Grapes.

In Nogales, AZ, Suarez grew up in a Catholic family that always held the pope in very high esteem.

The Dandreas welcomed Miky and his wife, Marina Suarez, giving them the use of Ronnie’s condo across the street from Philadelphia’s City Hall.

The Suarezes traveled with Miky’s lifelong Nogales friends, Tony and Rosela Dabdoub. After seeing the pope on Sept. 26-27, the Suarezes and Dabdoubs made a side trip to Montreal and Quebec City before returning to Nogales on Oct. 1.

Suarez sat in his office with The Produce News on Oct. 2 to reflect upon his “once-in-a -lifetime” experience. The whole ambiance, the whole thing was just amazing.” There was a nice, comfortable feeling because “all of the people were there for the same reason. Everyone was well behaved. There was a lot of waiting, walking and standing, but it was well worth it!”

The crowd included “people from all over the world,” Suarez noted.

Suarez said he never saw anyone in the crowd act angry or be rude. There was a great deal of security, with many different agencies involved in keeping things orderly. But “everyone was helpful and not threatening.”

In total “it was a really nice feeling. This was one of the best things I ever did,” he said.

Suarez said tickets were necessary to attend the Sept. 26 Festival of Families and the papal Mass Sept. 27.

Asked how he likes Pope Francis, Suarez said, “I feel very, very good. He is a very down-to-earth person and it’s very clear that everything he talks about has a point. I think the pope is trying to make a big effort to bring the church back to what it really is. The main purpose of the church is to teach the need to take care of each other, especially the children and elderly.

“I feel he is trying to cut all of the traditions that are not necessarily the best thing to have in this modern world. He is trying to be realistic on current situations. It all goes back to the same thing — to care for each other.”

Suarez continued, “This pope in particular is really turning the church around and making changes that need to be made. Now is the time.”