Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city of Argentina,on December 17, 1936. He was baptized by Fr. Enrique Pozzoli, an Italian Salesian priest who was close to the family. Today, Pope Francis often speaks of the importance of Baptism and urges the faithful to remember the date on which they became a Christian.
His father,Mario Jose Francisco Bergoglio, was an Italian immigrant. One of his grandfatherâs brothers had started a flooring enterprise in Parana, Argentina that was doing well and the four Bergoglio brothers were putting up a family business.
âThey disembarqued from the âJulius Caesarâ, though they should have sailed on an earlier voyage: with the âPrincess Malfadaâ, which sank.â Fr. Jorge wrote. âYou cannot imagine how many times I have thanked divine Providence!â
Having worked as an accountant in the Bank of Italy in Turin, Papa Mario, though an only child, had enjoyed being part of Don Boscoâs âSalesian Family â in Italy. When he arrived in Buenos Aires in 1929, he went to live with the Salesians in Solis Lane where he was warmly welcomed in typical Salesian fashion. It was there that Mario encountered Fr. Pozzoli who promptly became his confessor.
Photography and other creative activities attracted the youth. Mario settled in to his new life in Buenos Aires and joined the lively group of young men that gathered around Fr. Pozzoli in much the same way the young men in Turin had often surrounded Don Bosco.
Fr. Pozzoli the missionary, confessor, and watchmaker, was also a photographer and much loved by the Sivori family, and most of all by their eldest son, Vincent Sivori, who had a passionate love for photography.
Mario met the Sivori brothers who were part of the CĂrulos CatĂłlicos de Obreros and eventually met Regina Maria Sivori whom he married on December 12, 1935 in San Carlos. Jorgeâs Mama devoted herself to raising the family and to giving their five children a healthy religious upbringing.
His grandmother, Dona Rosa Margarita Vasallo de Bergoglio, a great promoter of Catholic Action,greatly inspired young Jorge who often carried with him one of her leaflets entitled âSt. Joseph in the life of the maiden, the widow and the bride.â
He recounts one occasion when his grandmother said things that did not please the government and they closed the hall where she was to speak. Undaunted, she spoke out on the street, standing on a table.
âItâs not strange that I speak with affection of the Salesians, â he wrote, âbecause my family was nourished spiritually by the Salesians of San Carlos.
âAs a child I learned to go to the procession of Mary Help of Christians,â he wrote, âand also to that of Saint Anthony of Mexico Street. When I was at my grandmotherâs home, I went to the Oratory of Saint Francis of Sales.
âAs a child I had in my hands the Religious Instruction of Father Moret.â Fr Jorge added. âThey had taught us to ask for âthe blessing of Mary Help of Christiansâ every time we took leave of a Salesian.â
An economic recession,however, began to take a toll on the flourishing Bergoglio family business. The President of the firm, Jorgeâs granduncle, became ill with leukemia and lymphosarcoma and died.
The two eventsâthe recession and the death of Juan Lorenzoâcaused the family business to fail. They had to sell everything, from the family chapel in the cemetery to the four storey âBergoglio Buildingâ where the four brothers lived.
Jorgeâs grandparents and his Papa were left with nothing.
source:Â http://papalvisit.ph/the-life-of-pope-francis-jorge-mario-bergoglio/
