Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, remembered fondly by Latino Catholics after his death
The soccer-loving, Spanish-speaking pope from Argentina was a beloved figure for millions who related to his heritage, his compassion for the poor and his defense of migration.
Elisabeth Román said she'll never forget where she was on March 13, 2013, the day that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected pope.
“I was in a restaurant in Puerto Rico, and it came on the TV that we might have a Latino pope,” said Román, who lives in Chicago and is the president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry, which promotes the advancement and engagement of Latino Catholics. "It was so exciting, it felt electric — things felt so hopeful, that we would finally have a pope who comes from our culture.”
Assessing his legacy, Román said that “not only has this pope connected with Latinos, it often felt as if he did so directly; he has not seemed as impeded by bureaucracy as other popes — he speaks directly to us, he sees us, he had an impact on our people that is powerful.”
The 266th Roman Catholic pontiff, known to the world as Pope Francis, died Monday at age 88. The first pope from the Americas, he forged bonds of faith and connection with millions of Latino Catholics across the United States and Latin America.
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