For me, Pope Francis was like a father, a model pastor, a friend who knew me. I greeted him for the first time at one of those meetings where there are 200 people and the Pope shakes hands with everyone. Then in 2018, he appointed me Bishop of Rabat at the request of the corresponding congregation, and when I got to know him a little better, he admitted that he had appointed me bishop without even knowing what I looked like. I got to know him on a more personal level in 2019, when Francis came to Morocco and I was the host who was to receive him. He came to comfort us and to confirm us in the faith. My fondest memory of that visit was when we went together to visit a social work, in a visit described as private, in which only the driver, security, he and I were present. We sat in the back seat of the car, talking in Spanish and laughing together, first for 20 minutes on the way there and then for 30 minutes on the way back. And there I was able to explain to him who I was and what the Church was like in Morocco. And he probably liked me, because I made him laugh.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "For me, Pope Francis was like a father, a model pastor, a friend who knew me. I greeted him for the first time at one of those meetings where there are 200 people and the Pope shakes hands with everyone. Then in 2018, he appointed me Bishop of Rabat at the request of the corresponding congregation, and when I got to know him a little better, he admitted that he had appointed me bishop without even knowing what I looked like. I got to know him on a more personal level in 2019, when Francis came to Morocco and I was the host who was to receive him. He came to comfort us and to confirm us in the faith. My fondest memory of that visit was when we went together to visit a social work, in a visit described as private, in which only the driver, security, he and I were present. We sat in the back seat of the car, talking in Spanish and laughing together, first for 20 minutes on the way there and then for 30 minutes on the way back. And there I was able to explain to him who I was and what the Church was like in Morocco. And he probably liked me, because I made him laugh." in the context of "Per me Papa Francesco è stato come un padre, un modello di pastore, un amico che mi conosceva. Lo salutai una prima volta in uno di quegli incontri in cui ci sono 200 persone e il Papa stringe la mano a ciascuno. Poi nel 2018 mi nominò Vescovo di Rabat su richiesta della congregazione corrispondente, e quando ho avuto modo di conoscerlo con un po’ più di tempo, ha riconosciuto di avermi nominato vescovo senza nemmeno sapere che faccia avessi. Ho avuto modo di conoscerlo a livello più personale nel 2019, quando Francesco venne in Marocco e io ero l’anfitrione che doveva riceverlo. Venne da noi per confortarci e per confermarci nella fede. Il mio ricordo più caro di quella visita fu quando andammo insieme a visitare un’opera sociale, in una visita descritta come privata, alla quale eravamo presenti solo l’autista, la sicurezza, lui ed io. Ci siamo seduti sul sedile posteriore dell’auto, parlando in spagnolo e ridendo insieme, prima per 20 minuti all’andata e poi per 30 minuti al ritorno. E lì ho potuto spiegargli chi ero e com’era la Chiesa in Marocco. E probabilmente gli sono piaciuto, perché lo feci ridere.
• As quoted in Vaticano – Cardinal López Romero, SDB: “Per me Papa Francesco è stato un padre, un modello, un amico”, Agenzia Info salesiana (in Italian; May 2, 2025)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.