Loretto had the honor to host guest speaker Tony Melendez during an assembly in the Little Theater on March 6.

Loretto junior Valeria Lopez said, “My expectations were that it was going to be boring.

I experienced a lot of emotions, happiness at first then sadness, and most of all faith.”

Melendez was born on January 9, 1962, in Nicaragua.

His mother was prescribed thalidomide while she was pregnant with him, causing him to be born without arms.

He and his family moved to Los Angeles so that he would be able to be fitted for artificial arms, which he only used until he was ten years old.

According to his website, Melendez started using his feet for everyday activities and eventually learned to play guitar with his feet in high school.

It was also in high school that he became more involved with the Catholic Church.

Though Melendez was considering becoming a priest, he ultimately decided that he couldn’t, and instead played guitar and sang during mass.

He eventually caught the attention of people who were organizing the Pope’s visit.

Melendez started off the assembly with a song, singing about his life story and meeting Pope John Paul on September 15, 1987, in Los Angeles at Universal Studios.

Melendez said, “I’m being introduced, I’m sitting there, and I can’t believe I’m there, for one thing.”

Melendez sang the song Never Be The Same for not only the Pope but for the millions of people who were watching.

Melendez said, “As time goes on, and I’m just sitting there in disbelief that I was the one singing with millions watching because this is televised and being seen around the world.”

Since then, Melendez has written numerous songs and traveled across the world to make television appearances and performances.

The main theme and message of this assembly was hope, accompanied by songs to which the students were encouraged to sing along.