In an official statement issued this Sunday, April 21, the Argentine Government confirmed and lamented the passing of Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was the first Argentine pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church.
The news was released by the Office of the President of the Nation. President Javier Milei expressed his sorrow for the loss of someone who was “a spiritual leader” for millions of faithful around the world.
“The President of the Nation stands with all those who profess the Catholic faith and who found in the Supreme Pontiff a spiritual leader during this sad moment,” the official text stated.
el Gobierno argentino confirmó y lamentó el fallecimiento del Papa Francisco, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Francis, born in Buenos Aires in 1936 and elected Pope in 2013, led the Catholic Church for more than a decade. The Government's message remembered him as the man who “became in 2013 the first Argentine to lead the Catholic Church and guide it with dedication and love from the Vatican.”
The reaction of President Javier Milei included a positive assessment of his pastoral work, despite the political differences that marked his relationship with Francis over the years. “President Javier Milei highlights the tireless struggle of Francis's Papacy to protect life from conception, promote interreligious dialogue, and bring spiritual and virtuous life closer to the youth,” the official report emphasized.
The text also highlighted austerity as a distinctive feature of Francis's pontificate: “Additionally, it values his willingness to bring austerity to the Holy See with his pastoral gestures.”
Javier Milei junto al papa Francisco
Argentina, the pontiff's native country, was defined in the statement as “a country of long Catholic tradition and the land of Pope Francis,” and it expressed “deeply the departure of His Holiness” with direct condolences to the Bergoglio family.
The farewell concluded with a traditional Latin formula: “Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.”
Its translation is: "Grant him, Lord, eternal rest. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace."
