A long friendship and unforgettable hug: The day Pope Francis forgot he was pope

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

As the faithful of Buenos Aires bid farewell to Pope Francis with a symbolic embrace in the Plaza de Mayo after the heavily attended Mass celebrated by the local archbishop April 29, a familiar face appeared among the crowd. A male religious in a blue-gray habit crossed the Plaza de Mayo with a smile that has circulated on social media over the past week.

It was Brother Juan of the Community of the Lamb whose face went viral last week in a video recalling an emotion-laden moment with Pope Francis in Rome.

In the video posted by Upsocl, which lasts just a few seconds and has already drawn more than 2.3 million views, the Holy Father can be seen making his usual appearance after the general audience, greeting the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

At one point, Pope Francis’ face changes to an expression of surprise, and then he briefly makes the gesture of placing his hand over his heart upon seeing a familiar face in the crowd. The video depicts that moment as “the day Pope Francis forgot he was pope” when he recognized his friend in the crowd.

That friend, with whom they could then be seen giving each other a big hug, is Brother Juan, who, as he told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, was celebrating his 50th birthday that day when he attended the general audience at the Vatican.

Upon seeing him, “the pope was surprised, and when I told him I was 50, that’s when he hugged me.”

Regarding the pope’s death, the priest, who had known Jorge Bergoglio since 1996, said: “I always had a great friendship with him, and now it’s time to put into practice what he taught us. We must continue.”

Regarding the celebrations and tributes, he acknowledged that “it’s all very emotional,” adding that the pope “loved Thérèse very much, so he will continue to do good from heaven,” in reference to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, one of the saints who inspires the charism of the Community of the Lamb, which is present in France, Argentina, Austria, Spain, the United States, and Poland.

A long friendship

In 1994, Bergoglio welcomed the community to Buenos Aires to found new small fraternities of brothers and sisters there. 

In 2002, at Bergoglio’s own initiative, the community settled on land adjacent to St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Constitución, where the small monastery “Light of Nazareth” was built.

Such was the familiarity with this community that two days after his papal election, Francis, together with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, called together all the brothers and sisters of the Community of the Lamb who were in Rome.

On that occasion, March 15, 2013, he told them: “Thank you for what you do in the Church. John Paul II and Pope Benedict insisted that more than teachers, we need witnesses. You have a great capacity to be witnesses. Pure grace. Preserve it… That bearing witness to life; prayer, liturgy; that asking for bread, hitchhiking; that witness of poverty and joy… Because people love you… And in fact, I want to thank you.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263753/a-long-friendship-and-unforgettable-hug-the-day-pope-francis-forgot-he-was-pope