Posted on 03/22/2013 5:49:30 AM PDT by NYer
.- Pope Francis surprised the owner of a kiosk in Buenos Aires with a telephone call to send his greetings and explain that he will no longer need a morning paper delivered each day.
Around 1:30 p.m. local time on March 18, Daniel Del Regno, the kiosk owner’s son, answered the phone and heard a voice say, “Hi Daniel, it’s Cardinal Jorge.”
He thought that maybe a friend who knew that the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires bought the newspaper from them every day was pulling a prank on him.
“Seriously, it’s Jorge Bergoglio, I’m calling you from Rome,” the Pope insisted.
“I was in shock, I broke down in tears and didn’t know what to say,” Del Regno told the Argentinean daily La Nacion. “He thanked me for delivering the paper all this time and sent best wishes to my family.”
Del Regno shared that when Cardinal Bergoglio left for Rome for the conclave, he asked him if he thought he would be elected Pope.
“He answered me, ‘That is too hot to touch. See you in 20 days, keep delivering the paper.’ And the rest is, well, history,” he said.
“I told him to take care and that I would miss him,” Del Regno continued. “I asked him if there would ever be the chance to see him here again. He said that for the time being that would be very difficult, but that he would always be with us.”
Before hanging up the phone, he added, the Pope asked him for his prayers.
Daniel’s father, Luis Del Regno, said they delivered the paper to the former cardinal’s residence every day.
On Sundays, he said, the cardinal “would come by the kiosk at 5:30 a.m. and buy La Nacion. He would chat with us for a few minutes and then take the bus to Lugano, where he would serve mate (tea) to young people and the sick.”
Among the “thousands of anecdotes” the elder Del Regno remembers is one involving the rubber bands that he put around the newspapers to keep them from being blown away when they were delivered to the cardinal.
“At the end of the month, he always brought them back to me. All 30 of them!”
He said he gets goose bumps whenever he thinks about Pope Francis’ simplicity.
“In June he baptized my grandson, it was an amazing feeling,” Del Regno said. “I know what he’s like. He’s one of a kind.”
Catholic ping!
I wish more politicians were like the Pope. There’s not a thing this man’s done that I’ve found offensive or counter to everything I’ve ever been taught about my faith. He is truly the real deal. I’m so excited for the Catholic church.
I am not Catholic, but this is such a sweet and telling story. 30 rubber bands....how rare and beautifully simple his approach to life!!
I am not a catholic either, but I too am very impressed so far with the new pope.
People who really know this man, up close and personally, are telling the world everything we need to know about him. Instead, much of the world believes the lies that are being told about him by the left-wingers who do not know him, who in this context clearly demonstrate that they really are agents of Satan himself.
He looks like a good man. The world leadership needs more like him. We sure could use a bunch in Washington and the various state capitols.
The Marine Corps is not the only one who needs a few good men.
Interesting times we live in.
Dittos! I too am very impressed with Pope Francis!!
I agree. I am 100% thrilled.
I am currently doing research on the collective character of our Founders. This Pope is very much like our American Founders.
Interesting idea - are you writing a book?
Agreed! So refreshing to look into the character of a public person and find stories like these!!! May God raise up multitudes of men and women who are also THE REAL DEAL!!!
That like having leader canceling LA Times right LOL!
:)
I agree. I keep checking the Religion Forum to see stories like this, not gripe-fests from any point of view ;-).
Cognitive dissonance
Someone better wise this guy up, “ You`re Pope now ! WAke up !”
Thanks.
Yet another “just wow” (in the best way) article.
What a wonderful story!
They cannot. Nobility and politics don't mix.
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