Pope Francis's most intimate side: the family that accompanied him until the end

Even from the Vatican,  Pope Francis didn't lose touch with his roots.  Jorge Mario Bergoglio maintained a strong connection with his family, both in Argentina and Italy, until the last days of his life.

At 88 years old, the pontiff passed away, leaving behind not only a spiritual mark but also a personal void among his loved ones. Carla Rabezzana, his 93-year-old cousin who lives in Portacomaro, recalled her last conversation with him.  "I told him I had a broken foot and he replied: 'Good thing you didn't break your head,'" she recounted through tears. Over the years, she always called him "Giorgio."

From Portacomaro to Rome: an intact family bond

Portacomaro, in the province of Asti, was the starting point for the pope's grandparents in 1929, heading to Argentina. From there,  Carla maintained a direct and affectionate relationship with him. Despite the passage of time and his role as the supreme pontiff, the calls, jokes, and advice didn't cease. "Take care," were his last words in their most recent conversation.

The last in-person meeting between them took place in 2022, during a private lunch in Asti, on the occasion of Carla's 90th birthday. There were no protocol acts, just a family gathering where another cousin, Nella Bergoglio, cooked traditional Piedmontese dishes.

Nella, residing in Peveragno, also maintained the bond until the end. "I wrote to him a week ago to wish him recovery. He replied with a hug," she recalled.

Both cousins discovered their kinship with the pontiff in 2001, thanks to Don Capra, the parish priest of Portacomaro. Since then,  they visited him twice a year, in spring and before Christmas. "We brought him a piece of home," said Nella, who last saw him in January, at an audience with the Associazione Cuochi della Granda. "He was serene and smiling. He asked me for bagna cauda, if I cooked it," she commented.

A sister present despite the distance

The most constant presence in his life was  his younger sister, María Elena,  the only surviving sibling of his five brothers. Born in Buenos Aires in 1948, she had a deep relationship with him. "After our father's death, he was like a dad to me,"  she confessed to Famiglia Cristiana.

In his youth,  Jorge was the older brother who played soccer, studied, and participated in Catholic Action. "I never saw him make our parents angry," she recalled in an interview. Their bond strengthened in difficult times, such as when María Elena went through a divorce or suffered a stroke. On both occasions,  the pope accompanied her unconditionally, calling her every day during her recovery.

Although for health reasons she could never visit him in Italy, the conversations were frequent. "He always made me laugh and gave me support," she said. Raised in a modest house in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, they lived a simple but dignified childhood. "On Sundays we went to mass and had lunch as a family," she recalled.

Currently, María Elena continues to live in Argentina with her two sons, Jorge and José. The eldest is named after his uncle, in honor of whom, even as pope, never ceased to be simply "Giorgio" to his loved ones.