ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 6, 2021 / 07:19 am (CNA).- As some international media recently reported that Pope Francis said he did not want to visit his native Argentina again, the author of the interview with the Holy Father that was the source of that assumption clarified the context and meaning of the pope’s words.
Veteran Argentine journalist and neurologist Nelson Castro interviewed Pope Francis for his book “The Health of the Popes”.
Argentine daily La Nación published a piece by Castro Feb. 27 that included a section of his interview with the pope. The last sentence is: “I won’t return to Argentina,” which led some to assume that meant “ever.”
At the end of the interview for his book about the health of popes, Castro asked Francis “how do you imagine your death?” to which he replied “I will be pope, whether in office or emeritus. And in Rome. I won’t return to Argentina.”
In a recent interview with fellow journalist Tito Garabal on Radio Grote, Castro clarified that Pope Francis said that he would not return to Argentina “as far as coming to live (in Argentina) if he resigned, that’s how it was.”
“He didn’t say ‘I’m not going to visit Argentina again.’ I asked him how he imagines his death in Rome and so on, he said, ‘I’m not going back to Argentina to die.’”
“This is indisputable as such. And it has two aspects: as the interview is verbatim then one wants to be as faithful as possible, so much so, and I anticipate this, that when the second edition of the book and translation come out, I’m going to introduce this clarification, because it’s called for,” Castro explained.
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Pope Francis at the general audience on Aug. 10, 2022 / Vatican Media
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Pope Francis arrives for a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 15:39 pm (CNA).
As the iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris reopened its doors five years after a devastating fire, Pope Francis on Saturday called the church’s restoration a “prophetic sign” of the Church’s renewal in France.
In a message read by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio to France, during Saturday’s reopening ceremony, Pope Francis expressed his joy at joining “in spirit and prayer” with the faithful gathered for the historic occasion.
The pope recalled the “terrible fire” that severely damaged the cathedral in April 2019, saying: “Our hearts were heavy at the risk of seeing a masterpiece of Christian faith and architecture disappear, a millennial witness to your national history.”
“Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration, and praise,” the Holy Father wrote in his message, addressed to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.
The pope particularly praised the firefighters “who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from collapse” and acknowledged the “determined commitment of public authorities” along with the “great wave of international generosity” that made the restoration possible.
This outpouring of support, Francis noted, demonstrates not only an attachment to art and history but also “the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still widely perceived, from the smallest to the greatest.”
Looking to the future, the pope emphasized the cathedral’s role as a beacon of faith: “Dear faithful of Paris and France, this house, which our Heavenly Father inhabits, is yours; you are its living stones.”
The pontiff expressed hope that Notre Dame would continue to welcome visitors from all backgrounds, noting it would soon “be visited and admired again by immense crowds of people of all conditions, origins, religions, languages and cultures, many of them in search of the absolute and meaning in their lives.”
The message concluded with Pope Francis imparting his apostolic blessing and invoking “the protection of Notre Dame de Paris over the Church in France and the entire French nation.”
The rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is seen a few weeks before its reopening to the public scheduled for Dec. 7, 2024 on Oct. 25, 2024 in Paris, France. Credit: Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images
The reopening marked the culmination of an intensive five-year restoration project following the April 2019 blaze that threatened to destroy the historic Gothic cathedral, which has stood as a symbol of French Catholicism for over 850 years.
Ahead of the event, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris told CNA that the reopening of Notre Dame is “a renaissance, a rediscovery for the priests and faithful of Paris who have been waiting for this moment for five years.” On Saturday night, Ulrich commenced the reopening ceremony by striking the doors with his crozier three times.
The cathedral welcomed over 2,500 faithful and dignitaries on Saturday, including U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin represented the Holy See.
The historic occasion drew international figures One public highlight of the evening shone in the Paris night as the cathedral projected a simple message – “Merci” – onto its restored facade.
Sharing the image on X, President Macron expressed his gratitude to ”our firefighters and all the forces that saved Notre-Dame, to all the craftsmen and companions who have made it even more beautiful, to the patrons and generous donors from around the world, to all those who helped keep the promise.”
À nos sapeurs-pompiers et à l’ensemble des forces qui ont sauvé Notre-Dame.
À tous les artisans et aux compagnons qui l’ont rendue plus belle encore.
Aux mécènes et aux généreux donateurs du monde entier.
The inaugural Mass at Notre Dame will be celebrated on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. local time. The new high altar designed by Guillaume Badet will be consecrated.
The Mass will be full of symbols: Holy water will be sprinkled on the people, then on the altar and the pulpit as a sign of purification of these elements intended for sacred use.
Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world will participate in the Mass, as will a priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Diocese of Paris and a priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic Churches.
Thi story was last updated on Dec. 7, 2024, with further details of the event.
The Maronite Catholic Eparch of Batroun, Bishop Mounir Khairallah, attends the press conference on Oct. 5, 2024 at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez
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2 Comments
If F1 would stop giving these impromptu remarks… I guess he takes literally the morning invocation: O Lord, open my lips.
If F1 would stop giving these impromptu remarks… I guess he takes literally the morning invocation: O Lord, open my lips.
Jm – You made me laugh with that quip…thank you!