Pope Francis passes away: The first pope from the Americas was born to migrant parents

Pope Francis always spoke in favour of migration and emphasised the need to embrace and support migrants, leaving their homeland to escape war and violence, for a safe haven. Pope had always criticised anti-migration laws and had even gone to the extent of terming intentionally hurting migrants a “grave sin”. Possibly, his own birth to immigrant parents in a different nation could have influenced Pope’s views.

 

"I also am the son of migrants who left in search of a better future," Pope Francis had said in a letter addressed to migrants in Panama. The 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis hails from Argentina. Born on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was the first child of Italian couple Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was the eldest among five siblings.

 

Pope’s father Mario José Bergoglio hailed from Piedmont in Italy and migrated to Argentina in the early 20th century reportedly to escape Mussolini's regime and economic hardships. His mother, Regina María Sívori, was born in Argentina to parents of Italian descent. Mario was an accountant by profession and worked primarily with a railway company. The couple got married in 1935.

 

Pope’s mother Regina was a homemaker and played a crucial role in shaping Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s spiritual thoughts. Regina was also said to be deeply religious. Writing about his childhood in a letter addressing migrants in Panama, Pope Francis said, "There were times when they were left with nothing, even starving, with their hands empty but their hearts full of hope."

 

Pope Francis always sympathised with migrants and urged the Catholic community to extend support to migrants undertaking risky journeys hoping for a better future. Pope Francis had urged the community to see Christ in the face of migrants. He openly criticised the anti-migration policies of US President Donald Trump and his mass deportation plans. During Trump’s first tenure as president, Pope Francis had called Trump “not Christian”, criticising his decision to build a wall across the US-Mexico border to stop illegal migration.

 

During an interview in January, Pope Francis had criticised Trump’s mass deportation plans. Pope Francis had said, “This will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill for the problem. This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved,” PBS News reported.

 

In a letter addressed to US bishops earlier this month, Pope Francis urged them to counter the Trump administration’s mass deportation narratives and said, “I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of goodwill, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

 

The pope always opposed the militarisation of borders against migrants and urged governments to welcome, protect and integrate them. Extending safe and legal access routes for migrants was according to Pope the solution to the problem.

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