Ex-seminarian in Rome remembers sharing a ride with then Cardinal Bergoglio

Quentin Cavite: He fetched the future Pope from the airport

The year was 2003. Quentin ‘Kentz’ Cavite was then a religious seminarian in Rome, and Pope Francis was still Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina.

Their paths crossed when Kentz was asked by his superior to pick up an Argentinian bishop from the airport.

“For me that was only an ordinary ‘errand’ we usually do. I fetched some other bishops and cardinals before him,” said Kentz in an email interview as he shared a memorable encounter with the well-loved Pope who is visiting the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19.

What seemed more important to him at the time was getting back to work. Kentz was co-editor of the international congregational magazine, and had to prepare articles for publication.

“So when he arrived, I readily helped him in taking his small trolley to our car,” he recounted. “We found an intense traffic on our way back to the religious house. I remembered condemning those moments. But now I consider them blessed moments.”

Inside the car they exchanged curt pleasantries, and Kentz tried to make light conversation by asking his passenger what religious order he belonged to. When the Cardinal replied Society of Jesus, Kentz got somewhat excited because he found something in common with him.

“I received my early scholastic formation from the Jesuits in Ateneo de Naga in the Philippines and that I loved being with them,” came his reply.

Before getting out of the car, the Cardinal asked Kentz what it is he loved most about the Jesuits. He replied, “Their particular Fourth Vow of Obedience to the Supreme Pontiff.” The Cardinal simply smiled and turned to greet everyone who was waiting for him.

“He told me that like me, he, too, is a religious and that he perfectly knows what community life is.”

When the Cardinal became Pope Francis in 2013, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who had resigned, that encounter flashed back in Kentz’s mind: Once upon a time he had a chance to meet this “very simple person who was always ready to lead and serve God’s flock.”

“I couldn’t help but shed tears and relive those moments,” he said.

Kentz did not pursue the religious life and now has a family. He left the seminary in 2005, and continues to lead a life of service working with the Tuscany region’s Program of Independent Living for people living with disability. When he learned that Pope Francis is visiting the Philippines, he felt overjoyed.

“I wish that his presence inspires more people to reflect and renew their lives to be more men and women of God and men and women for others,” he said. “May his simplicity be an example and remind all of us that as Christians we are called to radiate the Lord’s image and not ours.”

The Cardinal (far right) with Argentinian priests and seminarians: Truly a man for others. Photo by Quentin Cavite