Pope Francis was a pilgrim from San Cayetano, patron of bread and work

Remember for their austerity and closeness with the poor, Pope Francis marked his pontificate with the Latin American seal, reflecting the attitudes and gestures he cultivated in Argentina. His constant presence in the Sanctuary of San Cayetano and his closeness with the pilgrims that every August 7 honor the saint of bread and work are a clear example.

During his years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was a regular in that sanctuary, located in Cuzco 150, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers, gateway to the city of Buenos Aires and a daily basis for a multitude of workers.

Although the sanctuary was founded in 1875, San Cayetano took a lot of impulse during the economic crisis of 1929, by the past of the pastor, P. Domingo Falgioni, who spread his devotion as patron of bread and work. The image of San Cayetano with the Child Jesus in arms, and a wheat spike in his hand, began to be invoked as protection and help in times of necessity.

Cardinal Bergoglio approached there every August 7 to celebrate the Mass and share the feast of this emblematic saint, one of those who generates the greatest devotion in the Argentines, who entrust his concerns, anguish and prayers.

The saint of workers, of the humble, of the poor, who remained on the agenda and in the heart of Francisco during his 12 years at the head of the Catholic Church.

Get out of the most needy

In 2013, already chosen Pope, he sent from Rome A message to the devotees of San Cayetano which was broadcast at 00:00 on August 7 on a screen installed in front of the temple.

“Like every year, after traveling, I talk to you. Maybe the line toured it with the heart. I am a little away. I cannot share with you this nice moment, in which you are walking towards the image of San Cayetano,” he said.

Highlighting the motto of that year, “with Jesus and San Cayetano we go to the meeting of the most needy,” the Pope stressed the importance of holding his hand, looking with love and sharing the pain, anxieties and problems of those who need it most.

“The important thing is not to look at them from afar, or help them from afar. No, no! It’s going to encounter. That’s the Christian! That is what Jesus teaches us: go to meet the most needy. As Jesus who always went to meet the people. He was going to find them. Going out to meet the most needy,” he insisted.

“Hopefully Jesus marks you on the way to find who needs more. Your heart, when you meet the one who needs the most, will start enlarging, enlarge, enlarge!”

The Pope who cried with the poor

In 2016, Francisco also remembered his beloved pilgrims from San Cayetano, with A letter addressed to the then president of the Argentine Episcopal ConferenceMons. José María Arancedo.

In his words, he sent his greeting and blessing to all who came to different temples of the country dedicated to the saint “to ask for bread and work or to thank the fact that they do not lack.”

In his letter he was “moved” when he remembered August 7 in Buenos Aires, and the row of people from the sanctuary to the Vélez stadium (approximately 1 kilometer).

“Greet, listen, accompany the faith of that simple people … and so many times, before the anguish of men and women who want and look for work and do not find …, it only managed to a handshake, a caress, look at those eyes moistened with pain, and cry inside. Cry yes, because it is hard to cross your life with a father who wants to work and has no possibility of achieving it,” the Argentine Pope recognized.

In that letter, he referred alarmed to the levels of unemployment, which According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censusin the second quarter of that year it reached 9.3%, and asked San Cayetano “that dignity that the work gives us; to be able to take the bread home.”

One more pilgrim

The death of Pope Francis was a hard blow for the community of San Cayetano, who considered him another pilgrim, who came without prior notice because it was “his house,” said the rector of the sanctuary, P. Lucas Arguimbau to the portal On the way.

The first days after his death, the community was sustained between prayers, silences and tears to say goodbye to the “Pope of the poor.”

The priest assured that a virtue of the sanctuary is to be a “campaign hospital”, where everyone finds comfort and mercy, characteristics attributed to the seal left by Pope Francis in the community: “Here anyone can come and nobody leaves without being forgiven,” he said.

One of Francisco’s teachings, said Fr. Arguimbau, was to know that mercy “is not a prize for good, but a medicine for all of us who need to continue walking.” This, he said, “is a very strong brand and hopefully we never lose it.”