Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis says a private meeting with Pope Francis has inspired her -– and given her a renewed sense of purpose.

“I was crying. I had tears coming out of my eyes,” Davis said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “I’m just a nobody, so it was really humbling to think he would want to meet or know me.”

Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, says the private meeting occurred during the pope’s historic trip to the United States. After receiving a surprise phone call from a church official, the Kentucky county clerk says she traveled to Washington, D.C., where she and her husband Joe met the pope Sept. 24 at the Vatican Embassy.

“I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me,” Davis said. “And he said, ‘thank you for your courage.’”

Father Benedettini from the Vatican Press office released a statement after reports emerged that Davis and the pope had met.

“The Holy See is aware of the reports of Kim Davis meeting with the Holy Father. The Vatican does not confirm the meeting, nor does it deny the meeting. There will be no further information given,“ the statement reads.

Read the article “ABC Exclusive: Kim Davis Recounts Secret Meeting with Pope Francis” on abcnews.go.com.