Gordon Robinson | An unusual tribute for a very unusual Pope

On December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina to Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori.

Students of Numerology, an ancient Hindu science, recognise he was born on a “Number 8 Day” (1+7=8). In Numerology if you’re born on a “Number 8” day your life is expected to be significantly influenced by sorrow, loss and humiliation. Exceptions are those often reincarnated thus closer to self-knowledge and merger with the Supreme Soul (Brahman). This doesn’t exclude professional or material success (Muhammad Ali’s birthday was January 17) but overcoming those three problems will be required.

Numerologists believe the number of times 4 (one-half of 8) and 8 recur in your life determines your reincarnation status. If they don’t show up (important events; apartment/gate numbers etc) you’re in a latter reincarnation. But happenings in Jorge’s life suggest he was prone to the number 8’s influence. He was born on the 17th; ordained a priest on December 13 (1+3=4) 1969; completed his training and made his final profession with the Jesuits April 22, (2+2=4)1973; was appointed Argentina’s Jesuits Provincial July 31 (3+1=4), 1973; and elected Pope March 13, 2013.

Oopsie.

Muhammad Ali’s life was a primer on how to overcome sorrow, loss and humiliation to become the greatest boxer of all time and a supreme humanitarian. Similarly, Jorge’s adversities taught him humility and compassion, qualities that permanently characterized his life and work.

At 12 years old, in Buenos Aires, Jorge developed a huge crush on another 12 year-old, Amalia Damonte. Young Jorge proposed marriage to Amalia in a letter which included a drawing of a house he promised to buy if they married. Amalia recalls him saying to her “If I don’t marry you, I’m going to become a priest”. But Amalia’s parents were strict. They forbade the relationship. From this early sorrow the world gained Jorge the Priest and, eventually, Jorge the Pope.

In 1957, a serious bout of pneumonia led to part of a lung being removed. But he overcame that loss; learned to adjust to physical infirmity; and developed compassion for those more severely afflicted. This physical loss can’t have helped him with his respiratory problems later in life.

During 1970s Argentinean “dirty war” Jorge, then leader of Argentina’s powerful Jesuits, was unfairly accused of “complicit silence” when the military abducted dissident Roman Catholic clerics. He bore this humiliation with grace while trying to protect his subordinates by quiet diplomacy. As Pope, he wore humility born of adversity on his sleeve. He never lost sight of the insignificance of human ego compared to God’s works.

Oh Lord, my God,

when I, in awesome wonder,

consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder;

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art. How great Thou art!

As Pope he wasn’t immune from sorrow, loss or humiliation. He was accused of ignoring sex scandals involving Priests worldwide including pedophilia. But critics forget, in 2019, he changed the Canons to abolish the highest level of secrecy used to protect pedophile priests. He changed the Vatican’s child pornography definition. In 2023 he was vilified for saying pedophile priests were also “children of God” who should be loved as well as punished.

But wasn’t that Jesus’ teaching? Aren’t we all “born of God” thus children of God ( John 1: 12-13; 1 John 3: 1-2)? Remember “Love thy neighbor”?

Much has been made of Jorge becoming the first Latin American Pope. But his father, Mario, was an Italian who migrated to Argentina in the 1920s to escape Mussolini’s fascism. He was an accountant for an Italian railway. His grandfather, also Mario, owned a food store in Asti, a detail contested by “AI Overview” (insists he was an accountant) but corroborated by Jorge’s Italian cousins in a Reuters interview when he was elected Pope. No doubt “AI” can confuse Marios just as easily as us mortals.

Jorge’s mother, Regina Maria Sivori, was born in Buenos Aires but her family roots also come from northern Italy. Jorge, Argentinean by birth, was very much Italian by heritage. So, it was unsurprising when, as Pope, Jorge, a product of immigrants seeking better lives, became a committed advocate for immigrants’ rights.

When Jorge was appointed Cardinal (2001), he didn’t change his humble persona. He embraced simplicity; shunned priestly extravagance; lived modestly; cooked his own meals; and used public transport. As Pope, he washed prisoners’ feet during Easter. Last Easter he washed the feet of twelve female inmates - first time a Pope had washed the feet of only women.

He was a champion for women’s rights. He couldn’t change the Church’s rule against female priests but he appointed women to high policy-making positions including as Vatican synod voting members. He preached and practiced tolerance. In 2023, he insisted “Homosexuality is not a crime.” He condemned laws criminalizing same-sex relationships as “unjust”. In 2023, he was vilified including by some of his own Bishops, especially in Africa, for approving blessings for same-sex couples. But he received strong support from European Bishops.

He was an extraordinary Pope.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art. How great Thou art!

Jorge understood that God didn’t want slaves to doctrine but for each of us to be ourselves. He was the first Pope to take the name Francis. He took it as a tribute to St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology. So, as Pope, Jorge became a champion advocate for combat against climate change. This was consistent with his early education. He graduated from a technical school as a chemical technician and worked in food processing before becoming a Priest.

Throughout his time as Pope, Jorge repeatedly warned against global warming caused by humans’ burning of fossil fuels. He consistently urged world leaders to do something about it. As large nations continued to ignore science and play the giddy ass with Earth’s existence, Jorge’s messages became more urgent. Whether or not he convinced any of the main offenders to repent, he was instrumental in combining science, morality and faith in unprecedented ways in a traditionally conservative church.

He did what he could. That’s everyone’s sole obligation. Now he travels home to rejoin God with a clear conscience. He brings with him wisdom learned from experiences unfamiliar to any other Pope. His time on Earth made God even greater!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

to take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

and then proclaim my God how great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art. How great Thou art!

A British minister, Stuart K. Hine, contributed heavily to the How Great Thou Art with which we are familiar today. However, the original lyrics were written by Carl Boberg, a Swedish preacher, based on a profoundly spiritual experience while on Sweden’s southeast coast. How Great Thou Art recordings proliferate but, for me, the seminal version is a live Las Vegas performance by Rock and Roll legend Elvis Presley who only ever wanted to be a Gospel singer.

Yet How Great Thou Art isn’t a hymn usually sung by Roman Catholics. They don’t know it much. So it’s the perfect hymn with which to honour a Pope who was anything but a traditional Roman Catholic. He was a transformative Pope whose tenure ensures the Papacy will never be the same. St, Francis of Assisi’s prayer for peace epitomizes the life and times of Jorge Bergoglio:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio (a.k.a. Pope Francis) born December 17, 1936; died April 21, 2025, was a good man. In this life no higher accolade can be given to any of us. Rest in Peace good and faithful servant.

Peace and Love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com