Pope Francis will be mourned by the world Saturday — but only one of his relatives is expected to attend his funeral.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future pontiff was the oldest of five children born to the former Regina Maria Sivori and Mario Jose Francisco, Italian immigrants who raised the family in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
His only living sibling, Maria Elena Bergoglio, 77, last saw her older brother in March 2013, before he left for Rome to attend the conclave and ultimately become the head of the Catholic Church, Argentinian news outlet ¡Hola! reported.
Maria Elena did not go to Rome for Francis’ inauguration, as “my brother asked us to save money and use it for charitable works,” she said at the time.
She is currently in poor health, and living among nuns who care for her, the outlet reported.
Her son and Francis’ nephew, José Bergoglio, said his family wouldn’t travel to Rome for his uncle’s funeral proceedings, according to an X post on Wednesday by Argentina’s Secretary of Worship and Civilization, Nauel Sotelo.
“José told me that he and his mother’s decision was to follow the Holy Father’s example and that they had never considered traveling, as they believe it is the best way to honor Francis’ memory,” Sotelo wrote.
Maria Elena’s daughter and Francis’ niece, Cristina Bergoglio, a famous artist based in Madrid, Spain, confessed in a 2014 interview that she’s not religious, calling the church “outdated.”
But another of Francis’ nephews, Mauro Bergoglio, is expected to be on hand in Italy as the Pope is buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major — thanks to a private donor who is paying for him and his wife to travel, according to La Nación.
Mauro, son of Francis’ late brother Oscar, said he was offered tickets by travel agency owner Rita Mattiello, who heard him say on an Argentinian news broadcast that he could not afford the trip.
“It broke my heart to hear that he couldn’t travel,” Mattiello told La Nación. “I saw him helpless. He and his wife should have been among the first to be invited to travel officially.”
Mauro noted the Argentinian government had failed to invite the family despite sending its own delegation, including President Javier Milei.
“I never asked for a favor; it was offered to me, and the truth is that I accepted because it was the only chance I had to say goodbye,” Mauro, a nurse, told Radio Mitre.
“We are not media personalities, we are workers, and like most people, we barely make it to the end of the month,” Mauro’s sister, Vanesa, wrote on X, according to the Buenos Aires Times.
Vanesa wrote that her brother had “truly wanted to be there” for the funeral of “our last uncle,” and she was “grateful to the media for allowing him to make that trip,” referring to the TV program which initially drew attention to Mauro’s inability to finance the trip.
Carla Rabezzana, the Pope’s cousin, told the National Catholic Reporter in March that she worried about Francis’ declining health.
In a photo shared with the outlet, Rabezzana, now 93, is seen grinning alongside the Holy Father, whom she lovingly called “Cousin Giorgio” while the pair sat for lunch at her home in the northern Italian community of Portacomaro, Italy, on Nov. 19, 2022. It’s unclear if she’s able to attend the funeral.
The Pope’s grand-niece, Dr. Carolina Bergoglio, honored him in a Facebook post.
“The death of Pope Francis marks a profoundly symbolic moment in the history of humanity. He was a spiritual leader who knew how to speak to the heart of the world with humility, closeness, and a profoundly human perspective,” Carolina wrote Monday.
Felipe Bergoglio, Francis’ 21-year-old great-nephew, currently plays for the Italian soccer club Castiglionense 1919, according to La Derecha Diario.
Felipe never got to meet the Pope personally, he revealed in an August interview with La Nazione, but Francis “always asked about our family” while speaking to Felipe’s father, one of Francis’ cousins.
“When we all lived in Argentina, the relationship was difficult due to the distances between Buenos Aires and Córdoba, but the bond was always there,” Felipe told the outlet. His older brothers, Mateo and Benjamín, did meet Francis, La Derecha Diario reported.