The death of Pope Francis has deeply shaken the lives of all Argentinians. From the early hours of the morning, hundreds of people gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, where the Monday Mass turned into an occasion of reflection to mourn the passing of the first Argentine Pope. And also the first Italian Pope. Mario Jorge Bergoglio was indeed of Piedmontese descent and, as such, was close to the Italian-descendant community in Argentina. "We lived Pope Francis's papacy with an absolute sense of closeness, as something personal, something of our own," explained Professor Laura Moro, founder of the Familia Piemontesa of Paraná and member of the Committee of Italians Abroad (Comites) in Rosario, in an emotional interview with 9Colonne. "All the Italo-Argentinians who could, traveled to Rome to see him, to be close to him, and he always welcomed them with affection, recalling proverbs and sayings from his Piedmontese grandmother. Now, with the same intensity, we are living through this sad news. With profound sorrow, with the sense of a loss and a great void. Not only for the great figure of an Argentine Pope, but also for an Italian brother, a fellow countryman. Someone who always identified with the weakest, and for this reason, as Italo-Argentinians, we admired him. He always understood the weakness and suffering our grandparents experienced when they emigrated from a homeland still scarred by wars. And immigrated to this land, which welcomed them with love, but from the very beginning asked them for sacrifices and hard work to settle in this still virgin land. They made it flourish, with their skill, the ability inherited from their ancestors, and with their calloused hands." Moro recalls that Bergoglio was one of the distinguished descendants recognized with the "Premio dei Piemontesi Distinti," awarded each year by the Federación de Asociaciones Piemontesas en Argentina (FAPA), and that in 2013 he was honored by the Piedmontese association of Corrientes as an honorary member, in the presence of Italian and Argentine authorities.

"I feel particularly connected to him. I am from Piedmont, born in Turin, and I have always felt so close to those values, those roots, that way of being, and especially that honesty. As a true Piedmontese, he had very clear objectives. And even at the cost of being called 'stubborn,' he pursued them until he achieved them. This was always the case, in his journey in search of the Father, which today comes to an end. We remain faithful to his values, which we feel are ours as Italians, and which were, above all, to never let ourselves go, to always keep our goals clear. 'Always move forward,' he told us. 'Make noise,' he invited us. 'And always sing, because singing unites.' How many times did Francis remember his Piedmontese family, speak of the bagnacauda, of the traditional cuisine of his grandparents, and sing old Piedmontese songs." Alfredo Musitani, secretary of the Committee of Venetian Associations in Argentina (Cava), was also at Plaza de Mayo on Monday morning, at the entrance of the cathedral where then-Archbishop Bergoglio used to celebrate Mass, to pay tribute to the Pope. "I never had the honor of meeting him," Musitani clarifies. "The godfather of my daughter was one of the so-called 'curas villeros,' a very pragmatic person who supported the younger people in the Argentine slums, and he often told me about life in those places and the support they received from the Pope. It's impossible not to love such a person, so close, so dedicated to supporting people who truly solve the problems of others." Musitani explains that just a few hours before the news of Pope Francis's death was published, the Madonna of Monte Berico arrived in Buenos Aires. Starting this Friday, on the occasion of Liberation Day, it will be displayed at Plaza Italia in the capital. "On Sunday, we hope to bring it to Mass at the Church of San José, in the Flores neighborhood, the neighborhood where Bergoglio was born." In his memory, Musitani doesn't hide a certain level of controversy regarding the debate that currently affects all Italian associations in Argentina: "I am the grandson of people from Vicenza and Calabria. My children and grandchildren, due to the latest regulations on Italian citizenship, have been excluded from the possibility of being recognized as Italians. What we have lost is a Pope who strongly opposed any form of exclusion, and today, this is also the legacy I feel emerging in these sad circumstances."