The death of Pope Francis, the highest authority of the Roman Catholic Church, has sparked worldwide interest in learning more about the life of the man who dedicated his life to serving God and people.
Pastor Alejandro Rodríguez, president of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Argentina, referred to Jorge Mario Bergoglio as “a pastor with the smell of sheep,” because he was always among the people and their needs.
Bergoglio was appointed archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998. On March 13, 2013, the conclave elected him as Benedict XVI’s successor. He became the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first to take the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.
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Legendary evangelist Luis Palau said at the time that Bergoglio “was a friend” with whom he had cultivated a personal relationship. “I like him because, far from calling me a heretic, Bergoglio asks me to pray for him every time we meet. And I pray for him; I won’t miss the opportunity,” Palau used to say.
As a cardinal and archbishop, Bergoglio cultivated a close relationship with Evangelical pastoral ministry. Some criticized it as “ecumenical,” but the truth is that no one involved abandoned its doctrinal and biblical principles.
Palau also said, on the occasion of Bergoglio’s election as pope, that “as an Evangelical Christian, it’s evident that I have disagreements with Pope Francis. However, despite our differences, I consider him a friend and respect him as a person. I appreciate his high regard for the Scriptures, his love for Jesus Christ, and I admire his heart of service.”
Promoter of the Scriptures
Pastor Esteban Fernández, former vice president of the International Bible Society (Bíblica), shared with Diario Cristiano his personal experience with the late pope.
“I had the privilege of working closely with Francis on a project, specifically the Community Bible Experience. He was aware of who we were and the biblical texts we used. He also made a video inviting us to bring Jesus Christ from the mind to the heart by reading the Bible in the format we were proposing: reading it like a book, without chapters or verses. … He was very kind in that regard. I know he promoted that project a lot among different fraternities of the Roman Catholic community,” Fernández said.
For his part, Melvin Rivera, former global director of publications for the United Bible Societies, recalled on social media: “When I was in Argentina, his name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, and we asked him for a recommendation to include in all editions of the ‘God Speaks Today’ Bible with the deuterocanonical books. The intention was to motivate all Catholics to read the Bible. He generously agreed.
“Thousands of those Bibles were distributed throughout Latin America with his recommendation,” Rivera added. “He had a deep love for the Bible, for the poor, and for the land God has entrusted to us.”
In this regard, the United Bible Societies (UBS) issued a statement of condolences to the Roman Catholic Church for the loss of its leader. In the statement, they addressed the relationship between the UBS and the Catholic Church.
“Bible Societies around the world serve the Roman Catholic Church and Catholic communities, working closely with priests, bishops, religious educators, and lay leaders to ensure that the Scriptures are present, accessible, and alive in the hearts of the faithful. Pope Francis championed this mission, recognizing that the Word of God belongs to everyone and transforms all who encounter it.”
A servant
The Rev. Omar Cabrera, senior leader of the Visión de Futuro church and member of the Buenos Aires City Council of Pastors, was one of those who knew Bergoglio before and after he became pope.
“We had an event at Luna Park. One of my daughters, who was studying at the UCA [Argentine Catholic University], came with me. So she approached him and said, ‘I study at the UCA.’ Immediately, [Bergoglio] asked her, ‘Are you making a fuss?’ Because all the students were required to read a text of his, challenging them to go out and do evangelism and not be ashamed of their faith. We were having lunch, and he saw that Jennifer had finished her empanada, and he stood up and got her another one … he served it to her. She was truly shocked,” Cabrera recounted.
During another meeting at Luna Park, the reverend recalled: “I asked for the offering. And I gave Bergoglio a book of mine that speaks specifically about the Kingdom’s finances, called The Power of Generosity. And the next day I’m driving with my son-in-law and my oldest daughter, and he calls me personally to thank me for the book.”
Pastor Fernández also recalled Bergoglio’s relationship with Evangelical ministry, mentioning the context of the encounters Cabrera referred to. He said he was aware of “his spiritual quest and rapprochement with the Evangelical church, with the Reformed church, through the CRECES movement (Renewed Community of Evangelicals and Catholics in the Holy Spirit), which he formed while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, along with other prominent leaders from Argentina and around the world. It’s a movement that still continues to function, bringing together Christians renewed by the Holy Spirit from both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.”
Humility
Cabrera was one of six Argentine Evangelical pastors from CRECES who made an official visit to see Francis. Traveling with him were Norberto Saracco, Carlos Mraida, Ángel Negro, Jorge Himitian and Humberto Golluscio.
“When we were with him at the Vatican, we were in Santa Marta, and they had given us a room with eight chairs. One chair over there, far away, higher, sort of looked like a throne, and we all assumed, ‘Well, he’s going to sit there.’ So I sat at the other end. Francis broke protocol and sat in the middle. And I ended up sitting next to him. I never thought it would be like this. And one of the pastors, whose wife had been ill and whom he hadn’t seen in three years, immediately asked when he greeted him, ‘How is your wife? How’s your health?’ He truly was a person who looked at others first, and then at his own. That was what struck me most about this human being.”
Samuel Pagán, pastor, writer and Bible translator, told Diario Cristiano about the pope: “He was a man focused on people in need; his desire was to serve, and to serve well.”
A different one
From a European Perspective, Diario Cristiano consulted Pastor Juan Triviño, a Spanish editor and writer. Clarifying that he was speaking in a personal capacity, he noted that Bergoglio was “a pope who has made a difference, especially given the situation we’ve been through.”
He added: “He has made decisions that, even within the Catholic Church, and understanding where they were coming from, have been progressive, very progressive. He hasn’t been afraid to sit down with all kinds of people, including young people who completely rejected the concept of the [Catholic] Church. He hasn’t been afraid to speak to anyone or admit mistakes. He hasn’t hesitated on the issue of sexual abuse, very unlike the venerated John Paul II, who dedicated himself to covering up all the sexual corruption within the [Catholic] Church and moving priests around.”
In that sense, Triviño stated that Francis “had a zero-tolerance policy, which is admirable.’
He added: “I think he was very Evangelical in proclaiming and bringing people closer to Jesus. I think that today, thanks to Francis, many more people are proud to be Catholic than before he became papal president. If he didn’t modernize the [Catholic] Church further, it was because he wasn’t allowed to. He also had his ideas, some of which clearly didn’t fit with what we, as Protestants, as Evangelicals, understand in light of the Word of God, right? But he was a humble man; you only have to see how he prepared his funeral, which had nothing to do with the pomp of others, how he lived all this time, and how it shaped the way he related to the world.”
“As a man, I believe he gave his life to what he believed was the service of God, and to what was accepted as such in his community. A person of integrity, who lived what he believed, and who had no difficulty trusting, even on very important matters like his press spokesperson role in Argentina, in the case of Marcelo Figueroa, a brother he knew came from the Protestant church and had Protestant roots. So, a person close to the Gospel and close to Evangelicals as well,” said Esteban Fernández.
The pastors who make up CRECES issued a statement expressing their respect and sorrow for the passing of the Catholic pontiff. “We share the grief of the Catholic flock for the loss of their pastor, Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis. His ministry transcended the boundaries of the Catholic Church and was a gift from God to all humanity,” they stated.
They also maintained that those who had “the joy” and “privilege of serving alongside him” bear “witness to his passion for souls, especially those most in need.” They highlighted his “capacity to listen and his many gestures for Christian unity and respect for different faiths.” They also emphasized “his open spirit,” which “helped us overcome an attitude of tolerance to enter the higher level of respect, acceptance, and appreciation of others and their beliefs.”
From the United Bible Societies, the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches of the Argentine Republic (ACIERA), the Baptist World Alliance, the Brazilian Evangelical Alliance, FEREDE and many other Evangelical organizations, the call is to remember the man and console those who today are grieving the loss of an undisputed world leader.
In the words of Fernández: “The reflection for us, as Protestants, is to not waste any opportunity to make any effort at unity, based on understanding the differences and understanding that the foundations of orthodoxy are one, and that they, the Roman Catholic brothers, have added other things to it. But fundamentally, we are united. And I prefer to focus on that. I know that fundamentally, we have been working for the same thing. Anything else that takes Jesus out of the picture, I’ll side with Jesus, and I believe that is the heart of the Protestant Church.”
Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International’s Spanish edition.
