Pope Francis: The Most Radical Climate Leader On Earth Is Gone

A man who wasn’t just friends with my grandfather — he was friends with the sun

A man who was friends with the sun (created by author)

My grandfather used to say that the best days of his life were spent in La Paternal, the working-class barrio in Buenos Aires where he knew everyone’s name and no one locked their front door. And what he remembered the most was how, every Sunday, he’d lace up worn-out boots to play fútbol (like we say it here in Argentina, not football, and never soccer) against a team from the neighboring barrio, Flores, on a dusty, abandoned lot. But this wasn’t just any other team they’d play — this was a team of priests, seminarians, and streetwise believers who played dirty and prayed hard.

“Those priests,” he used to laugh, “they played like devils during the game. But once the final whistle blew, they’d just cross themselves and turn back into tender lambs in their congregations.”

One of those hot-blooded lambs was his friend Jorgito. A quiet kid with a short temper and a strong foot. They called him “Cocoliche,” a nickname born from immigrant slang, sticky like marmalade and unmistakably Argentine. My grandfather didn’t talk about him like a future pope — he talked about him like a true friend. Someone who played checkers while drinking mate. Someone who knew how to…