MY YEARS WITH THE POPE

Father Alexander Palliparambil, the Chair of Saint Augus- tine and Augustinian Spirituality at Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid in Spain, had a bet with a fellow brother from his community that their former prior general would be elected the new pope.

- Nirmal Jovial

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who once headed the Augustinians worldwide, was elected on May 8 and took the papal name Leo XIV. Palliparambil, who won a bottle of champagne from the bet, recounts to THE WEEK his long association with the pope.

Back in 2004, as our small Augustinian community in Kerala prepared for a momentous occasion—the priestly ordination of six of our brothers—I was entrusted with the role of master of ceremonies. Father Prevost was then our prior general, and I invited him to attend. He agreed. He was like the pope of our Order, and we had to work closely with him to plan everything. So, my direct association with him began in 2004.

Father Prevost has always been someone who listened more than he spoke. And every time he visited, he wanted to learn about India and its people. He never stayed long—perhaps just a few days—because we were present in 56 countries at the time, and it was part of his duty to visit each country at least twice in a six-year term. During his visits to India, we took him to cultural events, not only Catholic feasts but also local festivals that featured chenda melam and the elephants. He was always excited to see all that.

He adapted to everything—the heat, the food. Of course, we were careful not to serve anything too spicy or hot. But he was never fussy. He ate whatever we gave him. He was very reserved and never expressed personal preferences; he never wanted to inconvenience anyone.

In 2006, he visited again. That was when we acquired a school in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu. I accompanied him on the journey, which we made in a Mahindra Bolero. I took many photographs of him during that trip. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of those pictures in the 2018 floods in Kerala.