Prayers and love best birthday gifts for Pope Francis
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| A 1998 photo of the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio with Fr 'Pepe' de Paola - AFP. |
(Vatican
Radio) Birthday wishes have been pouring in from across the
globe in celebration of Pope Francis’ 80th on Saturday, 17
December.
Amongst those toasting to the Pope in an especially
‘personal’ way, are the impoverished residents of the villas miserias – or
shanty towns - in Buenos Aires who always looked to the then Archbishop of
Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio, as their pastor.
Francis’ ‘right-hand-man’ in the field was Father
‘Pepe’ Di Paola, who continues to carry out his mission with the poorest of
the poor in Argentina’s capital city. He spoke by telephone to Vatican Radio
about Jorge Bergoglio and ‘his’ people.
First of all, Father Pepe says, I would like to wish Pope
Francis the possibility of continuing to pursue his priestly vocation in
solidarity and in communion with the poor and in deep union with the Church and
the Gospel.
“May he go ahead in his mission to walk in the spirit of the
Gospel which is what the Church is in need of” he says.
As for his birthday, Father Pepe reveals, Francis does not
particularly like being made a fuss of. For example, he says, when the children
and young people here in our vocational school used to make gifts for him, they
knew he would give them away… but that was ok! It’s not that he didn’t
appreciate the gift, what was important for him was that it was made by the
children themselves and that they would want to be with him.
And exactly because they know him, Father Pepe says, what
the poor people here in Argentina are doing for his birthday is praying for
him. Because they love him very much.
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