(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday spent lunch with his brother Jesuits on Monday in Guayaquil, Ecuador. One of the highlights was the birthday celebration of one of his collaborators.
Listen to our report:
“What a beautiful thing to celebrate your birthday” read the Tuesday-morning message on Twitter by Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, the editor of the Rome-based Jesuit weekly, La Civiltà Cattolica. The pictures attached to the tweet showed why this, his 49th birthday, was so special. Pope Francis, along with around 20 other Jesuits, congratulating him, and sharing some hazelnut cream cake, on which the Holy Father insisted on having a candle. Pope Francis joked that he had forgotten his birthday, and had not brought a gift.
Pope Francis met with the Jesuits for over an hour, and the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, said the meeting and lunch were “informal” and held in a “familial atmosphere.”
Pope Francis also held a brief, private meeting with the 90-year-old Father Francisco Cortes – better known as “Padre Paquito” – who served at the Colegio Javier, where many Argentinian Jesuits studied for the priesthood.
(from Vatican Radio)…
From Quito to Guayaquil
and back. From the Andean highlands to the Pacific
coast, experiencing a strong temperature change and even some rain, Monday, 6
July, the Pope’s second day in Ecuador was extremely long and very demanding in
every respect. And the locals did not fail to support
the Pope with impressive displays of affection. At every turn, there were
streams of people who had taken to the streets to show their love and
gratitude. Millions of Ecuadorians manned the intersections waiting for a
chance to see the popemobile, welcoming him to their home country like one of
their own. Francis visited the coastal city of Guayaquil in the
morning. It is from this city that masses of people leave for the Galápagos
islands. But this is not the reason for the city’s historical importance,
rather Guayaquil was essential to Latin America’s independence. It is not,
however, exempt from the evils of the continent, as witnessed by the many slums
where many humble families live in small wooden and bamboo huts with tin roofs.
It was here that, in 1985, John Paul II visited this periphery, which looks
similar to the villas miserias in Argentina. The popemobile reached the park where he celebrated Mass
for the family in the presence of at least one million faithful, many of who
had camped out overnight. For this occasion the Holy Father used a wooden
staff, a copy of the one he used during his visit to the Holy Land in May 2014
which was made by prisoners at detention facility in Sanremo. The original
staff, very dear to the Pope, was damaged during that previous visit and thus
an exact replica was made with olive wood from Bethlehem for him to use in
Guayaquil. Rhythms of the traditional music, dancing, arms waving
coloured banners all accompanied the celebration of Mass, recalling the simple
joy of Ecuadorians. It was with this same atmosphere that the Pope had lunch
with the Jesuit community at Javier College in
Guayaquil. Among the Jesuits present was the elderly father Francisco
Cortés, known as “Padre Paquito”. Walking with a cane, the Spanish priest, who
will soon turn 91, has lived for 50 years in Ecuador working as a missionary,
and now dedicates his time to hearing confessions. The Pope met with Fr
Cortés privately and sat beside him at
lunch, recalling their friendship long ago. When Bergoglio was not yet the
Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he chose to send his students to Javier College for
formation and they were always welcomed by the vice rector, Padre Paquito. Gianluca Biccini…
The family was at the centre of the Pope’s second day in Ecuador. Speaking to a vast crowd of people who had gathered in Los Samanes Park in Guayaquil for Mass on 6 July, he said that “the family constitutes the best ‘social capital’”. He also recalled the family’s irreplaceable role in society. Launching an…
Read more
The family was at the centre of the Pope’s second day in Ecuador. Speaking to a vast crowd of people who had gathered in Los Samanes Park in Guayaquil for Mass on 6 July, he said that “the family constitutes the best ‘social capital’”. He also recalled the family’s irreplaceable role in society. Launching an…
Read more
The family was at the centre of the Pope’s second day in Ecuador. Speaking to a vast crowd of people who had gathered in Los Samanes Park in Guayaquil for Mass on 6 July, he said that “the family constitutes the best ‘social capital’”. He also recalled the family’s irreplaceable role in society. Launching an…
Read more