Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis accepted his election as Pope with reluctance, according to his nephew who this week gave an insight into the pontiff in a wide-ranging interview.

José Ignacio Bergoglio, the son of the Pope’s only living sister, Maria Elena, spoke at length to Spanish newspaper ABC about his uncle, and revealed that the Pope was on the way to pursuing a medical career and declaring his love to his girlfriend when he chose instead the priesthood.

“One day, his mother, Regina, entered my uncle’s room and much to her surprise she discovered he was taking a course to enter seminary,” José said. “She found theology books in Latin. My grandmother said, ‘Jorge, you lied to me.’ To which he responded, ‘No, Mamma, I am studying medicine … medicine for the soul.’”

Mr Bergoglio also spoke about the Pope’s love of a girlfriend.

“One spring day he was supposed to go on a picnic with friends,” he said. “That same day he was thinking of declaring his love to a girl he liked very much, but he passed in front of the Church of St Joséph in the Flores quarter of Buenos Aires and changed his decision. He went into the church to pray, then he went to confession and spoke at length with a priest, and during this discussion he discovered that his true love was for God.”

The Pope’s mother Rosa laid the foundation for his vocation, Mr Bergoglio explained, and he told of a phone call the Pope made after his election (above) in which he revealed his feelings at the time. Explaining how he has always had an excellent relationship with his uncle who he remembers as being a ‘joker,’ Jorge said that on the night of the Pope’s election the Pope called his sister Maria Elena and when she asked him, ‘How are you?’ he replied: ‘Well, my plump one… I couldn’t refuse.’
“He didn’t want to be Pope,” Mr Bergoglio said. “Like every Jesuit he was and is a person who is detached, and then he felt very tied to Buenos Aires. Asked whether he wanted to become Pope obviously he responded ‘no,’ but when he was elected he had no choice: he had to accept.”

He revealed that his uncle has a passion for cooking—especially pasta dishes—and that he gets up every morning at 4am and makes his own bed. Asked if the Pope uses apps and technology such as WhatsApp, Mr Bergoglio laughed and said his uncle is ‘zero technology’ and phones from the Vatican landline. And he also spoke about the Pope’s future.

“Pope Francis is capable of making decisions and so if one day he feels he’s no longer able to continue, he can make the necessary one: to resign,” he said. “But for now I think that he has the strength to continue.”

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