History about the Romanians of humanity who impressed Pope Francis: “I try to understand you and I want to come to you home”

“Pope Francis had particular attention for Romania,” says one of the Romanians closest to the Sovereign Pontiff, the former Romania's enunisor, Liviu Zăpârțan. He talks about the interactions he had with the Pope and what he meant for Romania.

Liviu Zăpârțan convinced Pope Francis to come to Romania. Photo: personal archive

The university professor Liviu Zăpârțan, the former Romanian ambassador to the Vatican between 2016 and 2021 and the artisan of Pope Francis's historical visit, six years ago, explained for “Adevărul” how he convinced us to visit our country, what kind of man he was, what he represented for Romania and to what extent he believes that he will be sanctified, as he will be sanctified.

“A man was full of warmth, understanding, even humor”

“And for the Romanians, Pope Francis meant what it meant for the whole of humanity, a great moral landmark, a great personality of contemporary spirituality. Pope Francis has filled cultural, spiritual spaces and this makes the loss that we are now going to be more significant, more important.”the former ambassador said.

Zăpârțan claims that Pope Francis has restructured a certain way of philosophy in the field of Christian spirituality. “Secondly, it meant a certain way of reporting to the problems of the contemporary world. It meant, thirdly, a lot of original solutions given to the problems of the contemporary world, a positive way to understand the human ability to get out of the crisis.”explains the former ambassador.

Pope Francis remains, he says, a “The landmark for the understanding of our soul, spiritual life that needs a certain cleanliness, a certain ideal, a certain hope in which to put its support points.”

Zăpârțan refers to Jubilee 2025 of the Catholic Church, which was officially proclaimed in May 2024, by Pope Francis: “It did not happen to introduce this idea that the jubilee year is the year of hope that expresses precisely this idea of ​​the connection between what we are, what we have, what we can and what we should want. Let us hope that we can be more human, deeper in our deeds and thoughts. ”

“This means Pope Francis for me, and as a man was full of warmth, understanding, even with humor in the relationships I had in these 5 and a half years as I was accredited as an ambassador”, Explained Professor Zaprâțan.

“It will certainly be sanctified”

Asked if Pope Francis will follow in the footsteps of Pope Paul II and will be sanctified, Zăpârtan Sustain: “It will definitely be sanctified” “The seeds of the Catholic dogma”.

“Pope John Paul II was the man of the historical moment, his merits in combating communism are recognized by everyone. The opening of Catholicism to the problems of the contemporary world was real, it was beneficial for the Catholic Church, but Pope Francis has another dimension to the world, a dimension marked by the ability to enter the world and the ability to enter into the world. Exit, exit into the human scale, exit into a world of authentic values, good, truth, beauty, justice in which he believed. “explains the ambassador.

The fact that he came, as he said at the time of the trick, from a country at the end of the world, from a country with other issues than those of Europe, did not mean that Europe did not count among its priorities.

Was it at a time asked why it attaches so much importance to Europe, because it had some important writings related to the European construction, the role of the church in this European construction? His answer was: “I believe that grandmother Europe still has something to say in the spiritual regeneration of the world, she herself finding some renewal elements”, Reports the teacher.

Regarding the opposition that came to the pope's opening to contemporary problems and the position of tolerance to the LGBTQ community, Zăpârțan says: “Personally, I do not go into dogmatic discussions, but the dogmatic seeds of the Catholic Church is kept by all those who led the Church in modernity to this day. And Pope Francis has been categorical in asserting some beliefs of the Catholic Church, the relationship between sexes, the relationship between parents and children. faith.

Pope in Romania. Photo: Mediafax

History with Romanians who impressed the pope

I asked the former ambassador what a memory remained in memory from the interactions with Pope Francis.

“There are many, because in 5 half years I have often met Pope Francis. He always treated me with a warmth for which I am grateful. He also had particular attention for Romania. I remember fondly that every time I met, I was looking for new arguments to support the invitation that I addressed in Romania. to his fundamental values? ”tells the teacher.

He replied like this: “Santo Padre, is a people that we can define by the phrase of my dear teacher, Nicolae Mărginean:” A people who live under the sign of humanity. ” I had a whole discussion with him, about 10 minutes, about how “humanity” translates into Italian or French. That is, it is neither humanism nor humanity. Omenia is, I said, a humanism in work.“

And he told him the scene in which some tourists pass in the car, in a hurry, in addition to a funeral in Romania. “At the tail of the procession was a citizen who saw that he did not belong to the family, is not among the belongings of the deceased. One of the drivers asked:” What is happening here? Why are you here? ” And he says, “I don't know, but I saw the ceremony and asked” who died “and I was told that a man of humanity has died.“

This story impressed the Holy Father, the former ambassador tells. “He told me,” I try to understand you and I want to come to see you at home. ” And it came ” – reports Zăpârțan.

Image from Pope's visit to Blaj. Photo: Mediafax

“Eelation with Romania was more or less secondary”

I asked the former ambassador “How hard was it to convince the Pope to visit Romania?” The idea has been advanced since 2016, since Zăpârțan was named ambassador.

“In the Vatican's work style there were several scenarios of the visit. It was a conception of a visit throughout this East-European space. We were linked to Macedonia, Bulgaria, … one of the ex-Yugoslav countries. And my effort was to convince him to come to Romania, because here is the Garden of the Virgin Mary ”, tells the teacher.

Zăpârțan realized that the legend with the Garden of the Virgin was not known in the Vatican. “When I realized it was an informational goal, I found a news agency that published a text about this legend we all know, about those monks from Moldova, who, scared of Turks, Tatars and the waves of the Vantors, took their lives to go to Athos. That is the garden of the Virgin Mary too.“

The article was an extraordinary success because it was not known where this expression came from. “I was extraordinary luck, because I found pictures that illustrated the tree in which the icon of the Virgin was hanging, where a church was built that the Communists transformed the TB Sanatorium and which after I came under communism, he regained his vigor, the vitality of faith.

The former ambassador wanted to specify that his mission was very facilitated by Pope Francis. “That is, one thing is clear, in the dimension of its function visit to Romania or the relationship with Romania was more or less secondary. We must be realists. And then keeping the Pope of coming to Romania and the need to come to Romania was possible with the help of its collaborators and I enjoyed the current secretary of the State, the Minister of the State. External, Archbishop Camiliers, who is now an ambassador, apostolic wedding somewhere in Africa and I carry very profound friendship feelings as well as many, many others and I would not want to leave the presence of Romanians in the Vatican structures, in the institutional system, in the papal curia ”, the former ambassador detailed.

He claimed that we have a few Romanian young people “capable, extraordinary, hard -working, devoted, believers, who come especially from the Romanian Catholic Church in Bucharest and Moldova. And they are the holders of important functions in the Vatican and in the other structures ”.

Who is Liviu Zăpârțan

Liviu Zăpârțan (77 years old) was Romania's ambassador to the Vatican between 2016 -2021. Originally from Bistriţa-Năsăud county, he has a rich university career. From 1975 to 1990 he was a university lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the “Babes-Bolyai” University of Cluj Napoca, and between 1990-2012, law professor. Between 1996-2000 he was an ambassador of Romania in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, being decorated for his activity with the great cross of the great duchy of Luxembourg.

He is co-founder of the Italian-Romanian Institute of Higher Studies near the “Babes-Bolyai” University of Cluj in 2003. University professor at the History Department of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy of the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the “Babes-Bolyai” University between 2005-2012. Director of the Doctoral School of Political Philosophy of the same university within the Faculty of History and Philosophy and, successively, at the Institute of Doctoral Studies between 2005-2016. Since 2012, he has been a member of the European Law Institute in Vienna (Austria) and, from the same year to the present.