How Francis will be remembered: ‘He left us a great love that we are obliged to replicate’

 

Lima Newsroom, May 3, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Following Pope Francis’ passing, one of his closest Argentine friends remembered him with gratitude, emphasizing that his legacy is impossible to minimize: “He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

“I feel that his legacy will be impressive and will be recognized in the years to come,” Marcelo Pivato told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Pivato is a retired teacher from Buenos Aires who had a close friendship with Jorge Mario Bergoglio for more than two decades. He met him in 1999 when he worked at the Argentine government’s ministry of education. From that first meeting, he was struck by Bergoglio’s simplicity: “He was affable, friendly, and immediately sought to be seen as a brother.”

Over the years, their friendship transformed into something deeper. Pivato said it was Bergoglio himself who testified in court for the adoption of Pivato’s only child, José Luis, whom the future pope also baptized. As pope, Francis later gave José Luis his first Communion in St. Martha’s House chapel in Rome.

Francis’ legacy

But beyond personal gestures, Pivato highlighted the universal legacy Francis leaves behind: “I think his greatest legacy is that he presented himself not as a king but as a man whom he himself recognized as a sinner. His approach was always the same: his option for the poor, for those invisible to society, his humility, and his austerity.”

In their final meetings — the last in June 2024 — they spoke at length about life, faith, and the meaning of suffering. “I told him about the idea my wife and I had of starting a foundation that would serve pregnant mothers in vulnerable situations, and he told me: ‘Do it, do it.’ He was a man of action.”

According to Pivato, Francis was a leader who never strayed from his essence: “He never changed. He could be with a king or with the humblest people, and he was the same. He didn’t put himself above anyone. He was always right there with you.”

When asked what the pope leaves behind for those who are not Catholic, Pivato didn’t hesitate: “What he said left its mark on them: ‘All together, fratelli tutti’ [brothers one and all].”

Regarding the final stage of his life when Francis faced double pneumonia and asthmatic bronchitis with fortitude, Pivato said: “He wanted to give his life to the end. He considered himself a bad patient because he didn’t want to stop doing things. But I think he put everything in God’s hands.”

“He left with great peace,” Pivato said, adding that he thinks many people who had a low opinion of him “are now learning to see him for his true worth.”

Francis’ critics

Pivato also referred to the criticism Pope Francis received during his pontificate, especially from some sectors within the Church, noting that “the Church — like every institution — has its different variants. So, it’s logical that there would be criticism. And it’s also logical that these criticisms are heightened by a pope who came to break, in some ways, many molds.”

However, he affirmed that his friend Bergoglio “never went against the Gospel, against the teachings of Jesus, or against what the Bible says.”

He believes the figure of Francis will be more valued over time: “Perhaps — as often happens with prominent historical figures — with time, his work will be more recognized, or those who were against it will understand that there was no reason to be so against it.”

Although he also admitted that “there will be those, along very, very conservative lines, who will think no, that he didn’t do any good for the Church.”

Some final memories

One of the most striking anecdotes Pivato recalled was when during the administration of President Carlos Menem, Bergoglio was warned by intelligence services of a possible attack during the Corpus Christi procession in Plaza de Mayo.

“They asked him to wear a bulletproof vest, but he refused,” Pivato recounted. He finally yielded, under pressure from the authorities, but didn’t like the idea. Pivato said that upon returning, Francis removed his vest, really annoyed, and told him: “I will never wear a bulletproof vest again, because if John Paul II was attacked and God protected him… he will protect me too.”

For Pivato, that attitude sums up his essence: “Humility always comes first.” And he recalled that, even as pope, he traveled fearlessly to high-risk areas, such as the Middle East and Africa, despite reports of possible attacks.

At the end of the interview, Pivato shared: “My family always considered him part of the family. God wanted him to be pope, but for us, he was one of us. He left us a great love, which we are obliged to replicate.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.