New book recounts anecdotes from Pope Leo XIV\u2019s life, including the day he was reported dead His voice reveals, above all, the gratitude he feels toward his friend, Pope Leo XIV. From this friendship, forged over more than three decades, comes the Spanish-language book \u201cFrom Robert to Leo,\u201d published by Mensajero, in which Armando Lovera, originally from Iquitos, Peru, recounts various little-known episodes from the pontiff\u2019s life, like the day many parishioners in Trujillo, Peru, thought that Father Robert Prevost had died. \u201cIn reality, it was a young man, an aspiring Augustinian, who died in a bus accident while traveling to Lima for the new year,\u201d Lovera explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. The young man\u2019s parents, who were from a rural area north of Trujillo, didn\u2019t have the means to retrieve their son\u2019s body and asked \u201cFather Roberto\u201d to bring it back to their village. \u201cHe drove over 2,000 kilometers [1,240 miles] round trip to do them a favor,\u201d the author explained. But when making the arrangements [to return the body], he continued, \u201cthey wrote down his name incorrectly and included him on the list of victims,\u201d which ended up being published in a local Trujillo newspaper. \u201cWhen people found out, especially the poorest people in the parish, they went to the Augustinian house in tears, newspaper in hand, to offer their condolences,\u201d Lovera recounted. But to their surprise, it was Prevost himself who opened the door. \u201cWhat impresses me most about this story is the availability he has always shown to his friends, and, on the other hand, the affection of the people,\u201d he commented. Lovera vividly remembers the first time he met the future pope in 1991 in Colombia. \u201cAt that time, in my parish, the young people were quite boisterous and informal, and when I was told he was a canon lawyer, I thought, \u2018Here comes a very formal, rule-bound gentleman.\u2019 But as soon as he introduced himself and we talked, he disarmed us. Our prejudices vanished instantly because he was a very approachable person,\u201d the author related. The following year, in 1992, Lovera arrived at the Augustinian formation house in Trujillo, under the direction of Prevost. For seven years they shared community life and pastoral experiences, which gave rise to a deep friendship that has withstood the passage of time and distance. \u201cI found in him a dazzling warmth. From that day on, he became simply Roberto, or Father Roberto,\u201d Lovera recalled. Prevost was the parish priest at Our Lady of Monserrate in Trujillo from 1992 to 1998. Lovera vividly remembers that community in its early days: \u201cMy wife was from that parish. We witnessed [its construction] when it was still just a sandy area, and on Sundays we would bring our own chairs to attend Mass, which had a very simple altar.\u201d Given the presence of armed subversive groups in the regions where Prevost and other missionaries carried out their ministry in the 1990s, \u201cthey were advised to leave, but he and his community decided to stay. And that witness deeply impacted me. I was moved by his courage, his sense of mission,\u201d Lovera recounted. \u201cBesides, he was a mathematician. And I love mathematics. That also brought us together.\u201d The friendship between the two also grew around music, a shared passion. \u201cRoberto loved music. We started singing Peruvian music together, as well as Augustinian hymns. He had a very good voice and enjoyed singing with people,\u201d he recalled. Prevost\u2019s mother, Mildred, was a prominent contralto in Chicago The pope\u2019s musical inclination has deep roots. As Lovera recounted in the book, Prevost\u2019s mother, Mildred, played the organ and was a prominent contralto (the lowest female vocal range) in Chicago, participating in the 1941 Chicagoland Music Festival. She also sang with devotion the \u201cAve Maria\u201d at Sunday Mass. Many years later, Lovera recounted, Mildred\u2019s electric organ ended up at the Augustinian formation house that Prevost founded in Trujillo. Hearing about that \u201cmade an impression on me. There was something of his mother, of her faith, that continued to resonate there. It was as if her prayer continued among us,\u201d he explained. When Prevost was assigned to Chicago in 1999, their friendship remained alive thanks to technology. \u201cWe exchanged emails. He is a very approachable person. That familiarity was never lost,\u201d Lovera related. Over the years, Lovera came to understand that Prevost\u2019s simplicity concealed a profound vocation for service. \u201cHe never sought positions within the Church. That touched me deeply. I used to say then, \u2018This person is someone who reveals God to me.\u2019 He stood out for his generosity, his ability, and his command of languages.\u201d He recalled with humor his own reactions to his friend\u2019s rise to the papacy: \u201cI honestly would have preferred that he had remained a bishop, so as not to lose touch so much. Then, in 2021, some friends were saying that Father Roberto would be the next pope, although I thought they were exaggerating.\u201d However, in the days leading up to the conclave, Prevost\u2019s name began circulating on lists of papal candidates published by the media, and Lovera began to consider that possibility. \u201cI supposed that if they discovered what kind of person he was, they would elect him. And that\u2019s what happened,\u201d explained Lovera, who currently coordinates the editing of religious texts at the Loyola Communication Group. \u201cThe goal of the book,\u201d Lovera explained, \u201cis to show [the reader] a friend who offers his friendship and, with it, the friendship of the one who gives meaning to life: Jesus. Roberto always wanted the doors of the diocese to remain open to everyone. He never acted like a distant sovereign or a bureaucrat. He always behaved like a brother among brothers, with the responsibility of leading and making decisions, but always with reasoning.\u201d For Lovera, that is the defining characteristic of the current pontiff: \u201cPope Leo XIV has not changed in his essence. He is the same approachable, joyful, and brotherly priest I met in 1991. Only now that approachability carries the weight and grace of guiding the entire Church.\u201d This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp Victoria Cardiel Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter. More news related to this article LIVE from St. Peter Square | Angelus with Pope Francis | June 4th, 2023 82 Years of Diplomatic Ties: Taiwan’s Unique Relationship with the Vatican Pope Leo XIV cheers on charity soccer match for children from war zones Drama swirls as Caritas Internationalis delegates prepare to elect new leaders At ecumenical symposium, Pope Leo XIV says Catholic Church open to universal Easter date<\/p>\n