The first Pope to have
visited the American continent
Almost 200 years ago, a future pope travelled to Chile.
Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti - Blessed Pope Pius IX |
Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of
his predecessor St John Paul II, becoming only the second reigning
Pope to visit the South American nation of Chile. But almost 200
years earlier, a young Italian priest set out from Rome for the distant country
– and became the first future Pope to set foot on the American continent.
Father Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti –
known as Don Mastai – was a young priest, just over thirty years old, when he
was chosen by Pope Pius VII in 1823 as part of a mission to
the new South American nation of Chile.
At the time, the voyage to South America was a difficult
one, with the pontifical mission facing storms, political revolution, and even
piracy as they made their way across the Atlantic Ocean. After three months at
sea, the small party landed at Montevideo, in what is now Uruguay, and proceeded
to Buenos Aires – the birthplace, more than a century later, of Pope Francis.
At each stop, the visitors from Rome held confirmations and
gave religious instruction to the local people. After some time in Argentina,
the mission crossed overland to Chile, an arduous journey that took them across
the Andes, the second-highest mountain range in the world.
Arriving in Chile, however, they found that Bernardo
O’Higgins, the young nation’s Supreme Director – whose embassy to the Pope had
prompted their journey – had been overthrown, and replaced with a new leader
who did not share his predecessor’s concern for the Church.
Despite the unfriendly posture of the civil authorities, Don
Mastai-Ferretti found a warm welcome among the people. The young priest took an
active interest in their religious life, and strove to understand their
traditions and mentality, including the different aspects of their daily life.
During his time in Chile, Father Mastai visited the different parishes,
celebrating Mass and hearing Confessions, and even acting as a Confirmation
sponsor for the son of a janitor.
Ultimately, however, the hostility of the Chilean leaders
meant the diplomatic mission of the pontifical party was a failure, and Don
Mastai-Ferretti sailed for home – despite an ardent desire to remain as a
missionary amongst the poor peasants who lived “almost at the ends of the
earth.”
Two decades later, Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti – now a
Cardinal of the Catholic Church – was elected to the throne of Peter, taking
the name Pius IX – and became the first Roman Pontiff to have
ever set foot in the new world.
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