Pope tells Jesuits in Africa he twice refused to become a bishop (CNS)

The Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica has published the transcript of conversations Pope Francis had recently with Jesuits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan (CWN coverage).

The Pope revealed that “when they proposed me to be auxiliary bishop of San Miguel [Argentina], I did not accept. Then I was asked to be bishop of an area in northern Argentina, in the province of Corrientes. The papal nuncio, to encourage me to accept, told me that there were the ruins of the Jesuit past there. I replied that I did not want to be guardian of the ruins, and I refused.”

“The third time the nuncio came, but already with the authorization signed by the superior general, Father Kolvenbach, who had agreed to my accepting,” the Pope continued. “It was as an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. Therefore I accepted in a spirit of obedience.”

The Diocese of San Miguel has never had an auxiliary bishop, so it is difficult to assess the timing of the first potential appointment. The Diocese of Santo Tomé is located in Corrientes province and had a Jesuit presence in the 17th century; bishops were appointed there in 1986 and 1994. The future Pope Francis was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in May 1992.