Today, the church bells in the slums of Buenos Aires are calling out for more than just a service. They're calling for celebration. You see, a good friend, Jorge Bergoglio, has suddenly reached a very high office indeed - he has become Pope Francis - the first Latin American Pope in history.
WOMAN (Translation): My daughter came over and said ‘Mum, guess who is the new Pope. It’s Father Bergoglio who used to lead the celebrations.’ I was very moved, I really felt like crying. I said to my daughter ‘This is wonderful.’
No-one is happier than Father Pedro Baya, it was Bergoglio who sent Baya to the church in the Soldate slum.
FATHER PEDRO BAYA (Translation): It’s our first Sunday mass with Pope Francis and I think he deserves a round of applause from us all.
I’m really glad that this Pope knows the priests and the people of the slums.
Both Father Pedro and then Cardinal Bergoglio dedicated themselves to the service of the poor in Soldate. That work is at the very heart of the story of Pope Francis's ascent, his deep roots amongst the poor of Buenos Aires at the core of the new Pope's identity and religious philosophy.
FATHER PEDRO BAYA (Translation): He is close to humble people. His main concern is the welfare of those in need. Not just the issue of poverty but also child labour, people with illnesses. This concern for the poorest makes people feel that they can relate to him.
The election of Pope Francis signals a long-awaited turning point in the history of the Catholic Church, a recognition that much of its future may reside not in Europe but in the global south. Deep inside the secrecy of the conclave session, he is said to have articulated a vision for a new direction for the church itself.
FATHER GUILLERMO MARCO (Translation): As far as I know he impressed the other cardinals in previous sessions when he was still Cardinal Bergoglio and was speaking to the church elders, describing his vision for a church that is close to the people and doesn’t keep ‘the shepherds on the mountain and the people in the valley.’ He was saying the Church should be close to the people and everyone in the conclave was deeply moved.
Father Guillermo Marco served Cardinal Bergoglio as his spokesman for eight years - a collaboration that, at first, came as a great surprise to a young priest.
FATHER GUILLERMO MARCO (Translation): One day, strangely he took me to dinner and he said ‘I have a problem.’ He was generally a shy man and he didn’t know how to deal with the press. He said ‘Why don’t you come up with something?’ This man’s humility…. I didn’t know what to do either. Sure, I had a little radio show but I had no clue.
Cardinal Bergoglio wasn't just a name here in Flores, where he spent most of his life, he was always out amongst the community. He famously eschewed the splendid trappings of the Cardinal's residence for a more modest apartment, and refused a private chauffeur in favour of taking the bus - the 55 route, to be precise.
WOMAN (Translation): I heard people saying the other day that what he does and says is a pose. It’s not, that is truly his life.
Now Pope, he said publicly he hopes for many things - including victory for his home football team, San Lorenzo.
MAN (Translation): He was a fan like all of us, he would even fight – not physically, but he would argue. I remember he once fought with the Boca hooligans. He defended San Lorenzo.
This soup kitchen is run by a church that Bergoglio was particularly fond of. He's reputed to have a gift for connecting with people on matters grand and spiritual, or on the more earthly pursuit of a local premiership.
MAN (Translation): He wore the San Lorenzo colours even to the pulpit! He was an absolute fan, he would have a coffee with us – he was humble, competent and one of us.
PRIEST (Translation): This is the basilica where Pope Francis began his religious path. His family used to hear mass here.
Bergoglio was ordained late, at the age of 32. But he rose quickly, deftly navigating the winnowing halls of Catholic power and politics. And as loyal as he has been to the poor of Buenos Aires, he has been equally loyal to the most conservative Catholic doctrine. And when thousands took to the streets of Buenos Aires to fight for greater reproductive rights and for gay marriage, Bergoglio went on the offensive.
ESTEBAN PAULON (Translation): Not just objecting but being harsh, he called forth a war in the name of God to end what he considered the devil’s plan to destroy the notion of the family – to destroy Argentinean society and to cause the country to disintegrate.
Esteban Paulon is a leading figure in the gay rights movement that helped make Argentina the first Latin American country to legalise gay marriage. Esteban now sees the Francis papacy as an opportunity.
ESTEBAN PAULON (Translation): There is a very small window of hope because in the past two and a half years Pope Francis lived in a country with same–sex marriage. Despite the debates, the devil’s plan and all that, that society is not destroyed.
The harshest criticisms of Bergoglio relate to the so-called Dirty War which saw up to 30,000 Argentineans disappeared by the ruling junta. Victims organisations like the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo argue the evidence suggests church leaders knew what was happening, and collaborated by their silence.
ESTELA DE LA CUADRA (Translation): Bergoglio cannot deny knowing that pregnant women and children were disappearing.
The most damning accusation against the Pope is that he withdrew his protection from two priests who were subsequently kidnapped and tortured by the junta. His failure to cooperate with post-war trials has left survivors bitter and angry.
ESTELA DE LA CUADRA (Translation): And I read that Bergoglio is paying for his hotel as a gesture of humility. Very touching. How humble. But when he was summoned to speak in court about disappearances, Bergoglio did not commit, unlike the rest of us, he did not commit humbly and on equal terms like all other Argentineans to tell the truth in a court room.
ESTELA DE LA CARLOTTO (Translation): They represent the doctrine of Christ, the Catholic religion is the image of Christ and of what is right and they have violated it. That’s also disappointing, that’s the issue for us Catholics.
Bergoglio's supporters insist he was not a collaborator, and tried to use the power of his office to save the two kidnapped priests. The appearance in the last few days of a photo purportedly showing him on friendly terms with Argentina's dictator has further muddied the waters.
FATHER GUILLERMO MARCO (Translation): A fake picture of him came out giving Videla the Holy Communion, he wasn’t even Bishop, so the photo is a fake. He didn’t know Videla, but when he found out they had been kidnapped he went through hell to meet Massera and Videla to ask for their release, and they were both freed. If he had wanted them to disappear, why would he want them released? The story is incoherent.
FATHER GUILLERMO MARCO (Translation): A reading from the gospel according to St John.
CONGREGATION (Translation): Praise the Lord.
According to Father Guillermo Marco, the new Pope has long felt that important church decisions were being made too far away from the people they affected. But this way of working may soon change.
FATHER GUILLERMO MARCO (Translation): He appeared as the Bishop of Rome and that says it all because the role of the Pope grew to a global level, but the Pope is actually the Bishop of Rome. He is a faction of a group of bishops. That way, he is saying ‘I’m a bishop like you, but we all have to collaborate.’
This spirit of cooperation seems deeply ingrained in the Bergoglio family. The Pope's proud sister, Maria Elena, has been overwhelmed by all the attention, but she's doing her best for the sake of her brother. She sees the church's renewal as a project for all Catholics.
MARIA ELENA BERGOGLIO (Translation): We all want to see a change in the church and I am sure that Francis will bring about such a change, but it will be to no avail unless we cooperate, unless we pray for the church and for the Pope and unless we bring real change into our lives.
As Jorge Bergoglio begins a new life as Pope Francis, his well-known virtues of humility and dedication to service will be tested like never before. Many believe he is up to the task at hand. In short, people seem to believe that Pope Francis will not forget where he came from. Nowhere is that more true than right here, in the Soldate slum, where the people swear they have not seen the last of their friend - Jorge Bergoglio.
WOMAN (Translation): Of course he will come. He will come one day. He knows people are in need in Argentina. Many people are in need, so he will come. He won’t forget his country, he won’t forget the slums he used to walk through.
ANJALI RAO: Aaron Lewis in Argentina with that report, produced by Aaron Thomas. Our website has a biography of Pope Francis and more coverage from SBS News on his election.
Reporter/Camera
AARON LEWIS
Producer/Camera
AARON THOMAS
Editors
AARON LEWIS
AARON THOMAS
Fixers
NICK OLLE
GUIDO GOLDBERG
Researcher
DONALD CAMERON
Translations/Subtitling
HENAR PERALES
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN