Francisco and his love for potato tortillas: a memory of the Pope’s export

Paloma García Ovejero, Chief of International Press of the beneficial organization Mary’s Meals and the first spokesperson for the Vatican press office between 2016 and 2018, shared an endearing anecdote about Pope Francis: his love for potato tortillas.

“He loved potato tortillas, my potato tortillas,” Garcia Ovejero confessed in a conversation with Ewtn News, smiling when remembering how, on special dates or when the Pope was sick, she wore him this typical Spanish dish.

“Every time I had a birthday, an anniversary of the pontificate, or had been bad, or there was something special, it came hot, freshly made, and always, always, I always returned the clean plate, and well, because a notice of thanks, a rosary for someone, a message …”, he said.

The anecdote, however, is not just a story about a plate of food. “It is because of the care that the dish would arrive returned and clean, and always with an extra addition. Caramba, it is the Pope. I would not have to worry about a dish that didn’t cost much either. But he had that vision of you, of the person,” said García Ovejero.

Francisco’s closeness: “He never ceased to be a shepherd with his sheep”

On the personality the pontiff, the journalist says that the “Pope Francis was tender, temperamental, kind, demanding, very hardworking.” “It exhausted us all those who had to follow their rhythm, or anticipate. But he never stopped being a shepherd with his sheep, a you to you.”

“He infected me all that joy of the Gospel, that hope for the poor, that love of the last, that mercy, that God who loves you, who is who you are,” said Ovejero, who recalled how the proximity to the Pope, who died on Easter Monday, deeply transformed her.

“We are the ones who get tired of forgiving. God never gets tired of apologizing. All this is becoming almost a life mandate,” he added, remembering Francisco’s teachings.

The personal and professional connection that García Ovejero shared with the Holy Father was not limited to informal moments, but also reflected in his treatment in difficult times, as in the crises faced by the Church during his pontificate.

“He never ceased to be the priest who also gives you a plus, shows you the winery of Christ,” said Ovejero, who described the Pope as a leader who, even in the most delicate issues, “had a word of father, of spiritual father.”

García Ovejero, now in his work with Mary’s Meals, carries with him that “mercy and joy of the gospel” that Pope Francis transmitted to him during his time in the Vatican, a legacy that continues to be reflected in his work of helping the most needy around the world.

“I have not had many bosses like that. I have never had them and I think I will never have them again,” he concluded.