ARGENTINA/FILE: Argentine Catholics are largely proud and optimistic one year after Pope Francis left Buenos Aires to become the first non-European pope in 1,300 years

Record ID: 447897

  • Title: ARGENTINA/FILE: Argentine Catholics are largely proud and optimistic one year after Pope Francis left Buenos Aires to become the first non-European pope in 1,300 years
  • Date: 12th March 2014
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (MARCH 08, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, GERONIMO RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "Wonderful, really, I've really liked this year with the pope. You have to pay attention to the pope because I think he is going to make history. Not just because he is Argentine, for which I am very proud, but more importantly it's that he has brought down a humanistic line to think of a future in which capitalism is much more thought out in the service of men and not of men serving capitalism and the economy, like he said in one of his latest speeches." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, ANGEL CHAMORRO, SAYING: "A lot of people who had gone astray came back to the Church because of the charisma and humility he has and for what he professes, which is humility and simplicity." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, SILVIA BARNIERI, SAYING: "I think he has good intentions, but the Vatican system will only allow him to go as far as the system wants. I think it is a good thing and it surprised me. He is a good person, but I say again, there are a lot of interests there."
  • Embargoed: 27th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA85C9OAD3T4VYDG84CPUC1RPTD
  • Story Text: Most Argentine Catholics remain enthusiastic about Pope Francis a year after the Argentine native was elected as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.
    In that year, the pope has already shaken up the Vatican and raised hopes for many that he can breathe new life into the Roman Catholic Church as he looks to lead it's 1.2 billion members in a humble and simplistic manner.
    One year ago, Buenos Aires and all of Argentina erupted in pride and joy when then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope on March 13, 2013.
    Catholic followers spilled into the streets waving Argentine and Vatican flags in celebration.
    Bergoglio decided to take the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi who is associated with austerity, help for the poor and a love of nature.
    The namesake has not been lost on the pope or his followers as he has looked to infuse the Church with his simple style.
    Since his election, Francis has promoted the idea of a more humble Church focused on the needs of the poor, winning huge popularity and raising expectations that it would soften its rules on such issues as contraception, cohabitation, sacraments for the divorced who remarry, and gay relationships.
    He has opted to live in the smaller Vatican guest house instead of the official papal apartments, part of the humble lifestyle he has embraced since assuming the papacy last year.
    Catholics in Buenos Aires told Reuters they see the pope's first year in the Vatican as a successful start and perhaps a prelude to changes to come.

    "Wonderful, really, I've really liked this year with the pope. You have to pay attention to the pope because I think he is going to make history. Not just because he is Argentine, for which I am very proud, but more importantly it's that he has brought down a humanistic line to think of a future in which capitalism is much more thought out in the service of men and not of men serving capitalism and the economy, like he said in one of his latest speeches," a Catholic from Buenos Aires, Geronimo Rodriguez, said.

    "A lot of people who had gone astray came back to the Church because of the charisma and humility he has and for what he professes, which is humility and simplicity," Catholic, Angel Chamorro, said.
    Yet some question whether the pope will be able to transform the Church as radically as some seem to think he will.

    "I think he has good intentions, but the Vatican system will only allow him to go as far as the system wants. I think it is a good thing and it surprised me. He is a good person, but I say again, there are a lot of interests there," another resident, Silvia Barnieri, said.
    Over the year, the Vatican has been quick to clarify some of Pope Francis' off the cuff comments on controversial subjects, but that has not taken from his image as a pope of the people.
    The Holy Father made his first official overseas trip to Brazil in July 2013 where he attended the Church's World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.
    The trip included meetings with former prisoners and a visit to a poor slum area, known as a favela.
    People marveled at the pope as he passed by large crowds largely unprotected in an open "popemobile" from which he stopped to kiss babies and shake hands with followers.
    But back in Buenos Aires, churchgoers say he is the same man that led mass here for so many years.

    "Maybe his smile, Bergoglio's smiling attitude that a lot of people here didn't see because he might not have had it, is the clear expression of what for us in the Church is the Holy Spirit, that illuminates a decision made by the cardinals," said Jose Ignacio Lopez, an Argentine journalist who specializes in religion.
    Opinion polls show the pope is widely popular around the world, but his popularity is perhaps unsurpassed in his home town of Buenos Aires.
    Argentina's government enjoys drawing attention to the popular new pope's roots and the city of Buenos Aires is now offering a "Pope Tour" which traces his life through the city, free of charge.
    The three-hour bus tour begins at the San Jose de Flores Church where a tour guide explains Jorge Bergoglio first decided to dedicate his life to the Church as a young man back in 1953.

    "To know his story, his life which was so special and austere and that which is always said, that he does not stop being the shepherd to his flock. And throughout his life he has shown that because he never lost touch with his people, this normal life here in Buenos Aires. He was just another neighbor. As we say here, he was just another Porteno (resident of Buenos Aires)," a tour guide for the Pope Tour, Daniel Vega said.
    The tour continues to Bergoglio's childhood home, his schools, and other churches he attended or preached at before he was named pope.

    "Sure, other popes have been very close to the people, but this one is even more so because he isn't careful about anything. He tries to be and gets close to those who need it, to give them kisses, a hug, to drink a tea with someone who approaches him. So the people feel this and the non-Argentines, who didn't know him before, see a person like that and they really are fascinated because they've never seen something like that," a woman on the tour, Nelida Ferro, said.
    The tour is free and open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
    Just a year into his papacy, the tour is just one of countless ways Argentines celebrate Pope Francis, a man they say they see as their own.
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