How Pope Francis’ early life in Argentina shines light on his time in the Vatican

«God is Argentine». With this announcement, which almost sounds like a slogan, journalist Verónica Roselló learned, thanks to a friend, that the priest Bergoglio had just been elected the new Bishop of Rome. It was the night of March 13, 2013 and Veronica, a native of the Argentine province of La Rioja, with 23 years of residence in Mallorca, immediately called her grandmother Benita, who in times raised eight children while earning her living a…

On March 13, 2013, Oscar Crespo was watching television in his native Buenos Aires when he saw white smoke appearing over the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican: a new pope had been elected.

Opinion | An Elegy For A Beloved Pope

Pope Francis' depth of experience, gleaned from a life lived in service, from the streets of Buenos Aires to the Vatican, imbued his leadership with a unique authenticity.

How Pope Francis’ early life in Argentina shines light on his time in the Vatican

By Claudia Rebaza (CNN) — On March 13, 2013, Oscar Crespo was watching TV in his native Buenos Aires when he saw the white smoke appearing above the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican: a new pope was elected. As with millions of Catholics in Latin America, he was curious to know who would succeed Pope Benedict XVI. To his surprise he heard the name Bergoglio – the surname of his childhood friend – and was immediately overwhelmed by emotion, he recall…

Buenos Aires. – Jorge Mario Bergoglio said goodbye to Buenos Aires on February 26, 2013 to never return. Benedict XVI’s successor was not even remotely in his plans, because he even had a plane ticket to return to his home. He was 76 years old and planned to retire to enjoy his family and hoped to return to head the Easter rites in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. However, as his father said “if you want to make God laugh, make plans.” Even as a c…

“I was there at that last mass. He told me 'I'm going to Rome and I'm coming back'. I answered him 'we deserve you to be the Pope'. He smiled like something impossible and didn't want to be Pope. But that's how we told him: he became Pope,” Eduardo Bordón, 49, who runs a community cafeteria, reminds Lusa. “In addition to the refectory, Bergoglio wanted us to build a shelter for homeless children. I wanted to build this when I returned from Rome,…