Lino Banfi and Pope Francis in a meeting a few years ago
«Tuesday I went to Santa Marta to visit the Pope. The gendarmes were very kind and made me go ahead. Some of security explained, in English, to some pilgrims who I was: “It is an important Italian actor, the grandfather of Italy and friend of the Pope”. I remained about a quarter of an hour in silence, to pray, in front of the coffin. On the left side of the face the Pope had a bruise even if the expression was very serene despite the suffering of the last few months ».
It is the moved memory of Lino Banfi, friend of Pope Bergoglio, to whom a poem had dedicated a few weeks ago, published on Christian familyentitled Vamos! We return to Santa Marta To wish the Pope a quick healing and a return home: «I know that his collaborators made him read him and he laughed a lot, he had fun»He says,” I told him not to make jokes because he and I, that we are the same age – I am born in July 1936, he in December – We were entitled to extra time because the world still needed us: of him to end the wars and me to laugh. Instead on Monday the terrible news arrived on the day my wife Lucia would celebrate her birthday. Maybe it was a small sign of heaven. When the Pope was hospitalized at Gemelli, I prayed to Lucia to put a good word with the Padreno and let him heal and return to the Vatican. So it was the stroke was fatal ».
Lino Banfi is moved in recalling his friendship with Pope Francis: “I cried very much, it’s as if I had lost a brother, I was the older brother for him because we joked a lot about the fact that he was smaller than me a few months“, He recalls,” in recent years a very beautiful and profound friendship was born. I know he had told his collaborators: “Banfi, the grandfather of Italy, is a great good person” ».
The actor remembers the times he met him, privately in Santa Marta and on other official occasions: «In all there will have been six or seven, I remember them as frames of a movie that I will never forget“Explains Banfi,” we talked about everything, I made him laugh, he had fun. I remember our meeting at the World children’s day last year. There were also Al Bano and Renato Zero who remained fascinated by the confidence I had with the Pope. Often when he spoke to me he kept my hand, he loved human contact with people. One thing that struck me that often at the beginning of our meetings gave me of her and then immediately passed to you, with great confidence. I managed to make him say “Papele, Papele” but this joke of leaving it so he just didn’t have to do it».
Another memory of Banfi dates back to last summer: «We have felt several times on the phone, but I am not able to record. But I was lucky, last July, when he wishes me for my 88 years. I saw the call from the unknown number and I did not answer … aThe fourth attempt, on the third consecutive day, came to me a message in the secretariat with his voice that said: “Let’s go well, you are like the principles, make the birthday for three days, you are smart”. Despite having recognized it, I doubted me that it could be an imitator and I rebuilt that number: did a people who said: “want his friend? And I talked to the Pope, I told him about the family, of the fact that I felt the missed of my wife ».
Lino Banfi had in mind that he once again meet Pope Francis to celebrate the fact that he became, before Christmas, great -grandfather: «I also wrote it in poetry. I the grandfather, indeed the great -grandfather of Italy, and he the grandfather of the world, as I jokingly said to Benedict XVIanother pope I met and honored me with his friendship. After telling him about my meetings with his two predecessors, the Pope told me to write a book to which he probably would have written the preface. The title? I made three popes laugh».
