A sort of “family album”, the footsteps that the Augustinian Robert Francis Prevost has left on the paths on which he walked, indelible memories for all those who have known and loved him. The 45 minutes of the documentary León de Perú, From tonight 20 June launched by the VaticanNews website, they help to better understand the current pontiff also starting from his past. Salvatore Cernuzio, who spent about ten days in Peru for this work tells us that this cross -section. Starting from the chosen title “which also wants to be a game of words to say not only the name chosen by the Pope, but the courage of lion that Prevost has shown in these over 20 years of mission”.
What did he have courage?
“There is a courage that manifested itself precisely in even hardest moments, as was that of floods, but that of the pandemic, in which she was the apostolic administrator of Callao, a very poor suburbs, a suburb of Lima where people remained choked by hunger, by the disease, by the impossibility of taking care, by a black work carried out for years and therefore, in the Lockdown it did not give any protection. He is one of the many anecdotes that they told us, sent chickens, pigs, medicines, natural water. He did it at a distance, without being able to visit this territory because they were all blocked at home. But he was in mind. We found stories of people, in these shacks, who told us not only that they survived thanks to this generosity, but that they had eaten even better than usual. Here, he was a brave man ready to intervene without waiting, who threw himself in the middle of the difficulties of the population to lighten them.
How is the documentary structured?
«It is divided into three blocks that describe this mission. It does not follow a geographical itinerary, that is, we do not start from Chulucanas which was his first stop and then go to Trujillo, to Callao and Chiclayo but it is all a mix of voices that tell not so much the figure of Prevost, but his mission of “father” as everyone still calls him. They spontaneously say “Father Roberto”, then immediately correct themselves. His figure as a trainer of the Augustinians emerges, with the testimonies of many of his students and many confreres that he has taken care of both spiritual and human level. A testimony, that of Father Juan, underlines that he was a man of closeness but also of the need. “He asked you how you are, how the vocation goes,” he said, “and then he wanted us to study, that we were ordered, faithful to mass, prayer”. Then there is the size of the parish priest who participates in all parties, in all lunches. One of his parishioners said that he was so well liked that his birthday celebrated him 15 times in 15 different houses. And then, precisely the mission to Chulucanas, then in this, small town where he took his first steps, he met the territory. He was very much in love with a statue of the Campesino Christ where he went to pray. And then the bishop, then his ministry in Chiclayo as a shepherd, but also as an apostolic administrator of Callao. There is the story of the great social works carried out in times of tragedy from Pandemia to floods. And then ordinary life ».
An all -round portrait?
«Yes, that of a loved, well -liked shepherd who took the car in the evening and went to the group of young people who celebrated a feast of the Madonna, inaugurated the statue, was there, dinner, sang. We really found a lot of unpublished audiovisual material. A fascinating figure. And then we also told the expectation of this people who consider him Peruvian in all respects. For them he is not American, they say “what honor to have the Pope of Peru”. When they saw the “father Roberto” to leave the lodge of blessings were surprised, they sent him many spontaneous messages to which he replied. And now their desire is that they do not forget them and, they say “we are sure that it will not do it” “.
