Thousands of people, including world leaders and diplomats, will attend the funeral of Pope Francis today, Saturday, April 26. Among those confirmed to attend is Mauro Bergoglio, the Pope’s nephew.
Recently, Mauro had mentioned that he didn’t have the financial means to cover the costs of flights and accommodation to travel to Rome and bid farewell to his beloved uncle. However, this has become possible thanks to an Argentine businesswoman’s generous heart.
In previous interviews, the Pope’s relative had expressed his difficulty in paying for the trip to Europe and attending the funeral. “I’m trying to travel, but I can’t,” Bergoglio had said on the Luis Novaresio program on the A24 television channel.
These comments motivated the owner of a travel agency to help Mauro Bergoglio and make his trip to Italy a reality. Infobae reached out to the agency Corima Tours in Buenos Aires, where the owner decided to gift the tickets to Mauro. “It was an act of solidarity from the owner, and he traveled last night,” the agency clarified to the outlet.
“It broke my heart to hear that he couldn’t travel. I saw him helpless,” said Rita Mattiello, the agency owner, in statements quoted by El Tiempo. “If you can do business, how can you not help in certain cases?”
While the owner purchased the flights, the A24 production team organized the lodging and document processing. The necessary arrangements were made with the authorities to expedite the passport process, and Mauro was finally able to travel to Rome.
Mauro Bergoglio’s journey to Rome
Mattiello told El Tiempo that they organized the trip in record time; within seven hours, Mauro and his wife had their tickets ready. Around 7 PM (Buenos Aires local time), a vehicle picked them up to take them to Ezeiza International Airport, where they boarded a flight to Rome at 10:30 PM.In addition to Mauro’s lack of funds for this trip, it’s worth noting that since the death of Pope Francis was announced, flight and accommodation prices have skyrocketed.
Mauro and his uncle Jorge Mario were close
Despite his position as the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope never lost his sense of humor or his closeness to his nephews, as Mauro Bergoglio recalled. They would communicate via email and phone calls.
“A few days ago, when he was discharged from the hospital, I wrote to check how he was doing, and he told me he was feeling better, so this is all so unexpected,” he said about their last conversation after the Pope left the Gemelli Hospital following a 38-day stay. “He liked to talk, though he was a bit strained when it came to breathing.”
After being elected Pope in 2013, Mauro and his uncle did not see each other again but stayed in touch. “We were always connected, and it was normal for us to talk to him. Whenever we could, because he was always very busy, and we tried not to bother him,” he shared with the A24 cameras.