Mount St. Mary’s professor recalls his days with future pope in Argentina

From the first time they met, Alejandro Cañadas was impressed with the humility and jovial personality of the future Pope Francis.

Cañadas, now an associate professor of economics at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, met then-Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio several times from 1991 to 1997 when he was a college student in his native Argentina and the future pope was a priest in Buenos Aires.

He said the pope was always quick with a laugh and approached everyone with a convivial style.

Pope Francis died April 21 at the age of 88.

One of his fondest memories is of Pope Francis arriving late to a missionary invitation at a shanty in Bueno Aires where Cañadas and his wife, Cynthia Fraga-Cañadas, were serving. 

Cañadas said the then archbishop didn’t want to give off a high-brow impression by arriving in a fancy car so he took a train and then a bus to the event. It caused him to arrive late and get a firsthand glimpse of the substandard mass-transit system on which most of the impoverished in the shanty had to rely.

“The first thing he did when he arrived was make a joke about being late,” recalled Cañadas, who often went to daily Mass celebrated by the future pope. “His sensibilities have always been with the people. He has always been a very nice and caring priest. He continued this as pope. He didn’t change from being a loving pastor.”

As an economics professor at Mount St. Mary’s, Cañadas has had a hand in spreading the pope’s message for care of the environment and each other to young people. He started two courses at the university – Economy of Francesco and Economy of Love – to instill the pope’s message.

That message was included in Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the care for the environment and economy, “Laudauto Si’,” in which he spoke out against consumerism and irresponsible economic development.

Pope Francis also published “Laudate Deum,” a 2023 apostolic exhortation, to address ecology.

Cañadas, who heads the Mount’s participation in “Laudato Si’” and is co-chair of its sustainability committee, also was involved in the planning of the Economy of Francesco event in Assisi, Italy, in 2022.

In his fourth year of formation to become a permanent deacon for the Archdioceses of Baltimore, he said his mission is to connect his students with Catholic social teaching.

“The pope’s encyclical really is a way for young people to start thinking and be inspired by St. Francis of Assisi and his revolution. The economy can change to benefit everyone and we can change the way we do business. We need to love each other and treat each other with respect. Our relationship with the environment and the economy is about our relationship with God.”

Cañadas, a father of three who immigrated to the United States for doctoral studies at Ohio State University in 2000, cherishes his early interactions with Pope Francis.

“It’s pretty amazing when you think about it,” he said. “You cross paths every day with Archbishop (William E.) Lori, other bishops and priests, and you never know when you might be encountering the next pope.”

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

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