Since the time Ángeles Hernández discovered her calling to become a pilot after boarding a Boeing 747 as a child bound for a visit to England, she never imagined that, decades later, she would sit in the cockpit of an Iberia airplane flying the successor of St. Peter from Madrid to Barcelona.
During takeoff, the pope was invited to the cockpit, where they shared an exchange she said she will never forget.
“I think I’m still beside myself … I’m still on cloud nine. I’ve hardly had time to stop and pray, and I believe this is something you process through prayer because otherwise it doesn’t sink in the same way,” the 33-year-old pilot told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, just a day after an experience she said she will always cherish in her heart.
The woman from Extremadura, Spain, said it hasnʼt yet fully sunk in and that she still needs to “bring down to earth” the emotions she experienced on the afternoon of June 9, when Pope Leo XIV sat with her and pilot Pablo Martínez in the cockpit.
She said she feels “blessed” and attributed the event to “God’s ways.” She also recalled a conversation with a nun from the Eucharistic Sisters of Nazareth, for whom she holds great affection: “I told her I didn’t know if I deserved something like this, and she replied that it was the Lord’s way of telling me he loved me.”
The video of Hernández with Pope Leo in the cockpit has gone viral around the world.
It shows the pontiff clearly enjoying the experience. “I do think he really enjoyed the flight,” she said. “He mentioned that it was his first time taking off [while in the cockpit] and he asked us technical questions, such as what temperature the engines reach upon startup. He was very curious, and we explained the operation [of the plane] to him as we went along.”
Martinez, the other pilot, told the pope he is a Real Madrid soccer team fan and had enjoyed the popeʼs allusion the day before to the “spectacular goal” scored for the Church in Madrid. The pope jokingly replied that he’s also a “White” (referring to the nickname for Real Madrid fans) and added that one has to “be careful” in Barcelona, given the traditional rivalry between the Real team and Barça (the Barcelona team).
During the journey, the plane carrying the pope was escorted by two Spanish Air Force F-18 fighter jets. At one point during the flight, the cockpit crew made contact with the military pilots.
Hernández said the pope “didn’t hesitate for a moment to put on the headset and pick up the microphone” to speak with Commander López of the Zaragoza Squadron. “It was a unique experience,” she recalled, with feeling.
Hernández also had the opportunity to ask the Holy Father to pray for her family’s intentions and, more broadly, for all families in Spain: “For all their concerns, their intentions, and the illnesses borne in silence, and also for those who care for the sick.”
She also asked him for a blessing for many of her friends and family members.
“The pope told me to let them know they have his blessing and that he is praying for them. I’ll never forget those words — they are truly a gift,” she said.
Although the years of training and the journey to becoming a pilot haven’t always been easy, Hernández stated with conviction: “It’s a matter of putting things in God’s hands and saying, ‘Let’s give it our all; if you are with me, we’ll make it.’
She said faith is an immense gift she received from her parents and grandparents, who were the ones responsible for sowing that initial seed. Over the years, she explained, that seed has been “watered” thanks to many people she has met along the way.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.