Rev. James Martin

Do you want to pray before we start? By all means. Yeah. So, loving God, we thank you for bringing us together. We ask you to help us to proclaim the gospel and open our lips that our mouth might declare your praise. Amen.

Do you want to pray before we start? By all means. Yeah. So, loving God, we thank you for bringing us together. We ask you to help us to proclaim the gospel and open our lips that our mouth might declare your praise. Amen.

Yeah, and I think that's key to understanding who he was. He was a Jesuit for most of his life, a priest for just almost as long. And that's the first way that we Jesuits came to know him. Interestingly, he had something of a checkered relationship in the Jesuits because he was, by his own admission, he was rigid and authoritarian, he said. So when he was elected, not every Jesuit was happy.

Yeah, and I think that's key to understanding who he was. He was a Jesuit for most of his life, a priest for just almost as long. And that's the first way that we Jesuits came to know him. Interestingly, he had something of a checkered relationship in the Jesuits because he was, by his own admission, he was rigid and authoritarian, he said. So when he was elected, not every Jesuit was happy.

In fact, in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, he was on the list. And interestingly, I was reading a piece in the Times that had a list of all the electors. And I said to a fellow Jesuit who was much older and who had worked in Rome, I said, who is this Jorge Mario Bergoglio? And this old Jesuit said he'd be terrible.

In fact, in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, he was on the list. And interestingly, I was reading a piece in the Times that had a list of all the electors. And I said to a fellow Jesuit who was much older and who had worked in Rome, I said, who is this Jorge Mario Bergoglio? And this old Jesuit said he'd be terrible.

But, you know, he soon proved to be a real model Jesuit and was always very close to the Jesuits during his pontificate. And that's one of the ways I interacted with him and how I understood him. I think a lot of the stuff that he did could be mystifying to people, questions of discernment, freedom and difference. all Jesuit concepts. And so I think that's key to understanding who he was.

But, you know, he soon proved to be a real model Jesuit and was always very close to the Jesuits during his pontificate. And that's one of the ways I interacted with him and how I understood him. I think a lot of the stuff that he did could be mystifying to people, questions of discernment, freedom and difference. all Jesuit concepts. And so I think that's key to understanding who he was.

He was always a good Jesuit. When did you meet him for the first time? I met him for the first time after a mass at Casa Santa Marta, very briefly, and just shook his hand and he said, pray for me, reza por mi. And then really in earnest, in 2017, he appointed me as a consultor for the Dicastery for Communication, which is a very low-level appointment for the communications office.

He was always a good Jesuit. When did you meet him for the first time? I met him for the first time after a mass at Casa Santa Marta, very briefly, and just shook his hand and he said, pray for me, reza por mi. And then really in earnest, in 2017, he appointed me as a consultor for the Dicastery for Communication, which is a very low-level appointment for the communications office.

And I was at a- Because of your expertise in podcasting and other- And when we were at the audience, I introduced myself, and he said, ah, I'd like to have an audience with you. And I said, oh, yo, tambien. And in September 2019, we had our first one-on-one meeting.

And I was at a- Because of your expertise in podcasting and other- And when we were at the audience, I introduced myself, and he said, ah, I'd like to have an audience with you. And I said, oh, yo, tambien. And in September 2019, we had our first one-on-one meeting.

And it was really, I'll just be honest, it was really life-changing, just being with him, talking about these issues, and just feeling completely relaxed. He was very warm and friendly. One of the things I want to share with listeners and viewers is he was just a nice guy. He was just a nice guy, friendly, fun guy. And at the end of the meeting, I'd never spoken to a Pope before.

And it was really, I'll just be honest, it was really life-changing, just being with him, talking about these issues, and just feeling completely relaxed. He was very warm and friendly. One of the things I want to share with listeners and viewers is he was just a nice guy. He was just a nice guy, friendly, fun guy. And at the end of the meeting, I'd never spoken to a Pope before.

And at minute 25, it was a half hour meeting. I thought, oh my gosh, I've been talking the whole time about this one issue. Maybe he wants to talk about something else. So I said, Holy Father, what can I do for you? Meaning, you know, you want to talk about the American church or the Jesuits or something.

And at minute 25, it was a half hour meeting. I thought, oh my gosh, I've been talking the whole time about this one issue. Maybe he wants to talk about something else. So I said, Holy Father, what can I do for you? Meaning, you know, you want to talk about the American church or the Jesuits or something.

He said, you can continue this ministry in peace, which I found extremely encouraging and moving. And, you know, he didn't have to do that. And he didn't have to meet with me a couple of times. And we would exchange notes over email in his little kind of crabbed handwriting. How would you get those? Would you get those notes scanned via email? Yeah.

He said, you can continue this ministry in peace, which I found extremely encouraging and moving. And, you know, he didn't have to do that. And he didn't have to meet with me a couple of times. And we would exchange notes over email in his little kind of crabbed handwriting. How would you get those? Would you get those notes scanned via email? Yeah.

So I ended up getting the email address for his secretaries, which were different people at different times. And I would send him more formal notes, you know, like typed out and whatnot in Spanish or Italian, thanks to Google Translate. And they would send me back scanned PDFs of his handwritten note, which they would have to

So I ended up getting the email address for his secretaries, which were different people at different times. And I would send him more formal notes, you know, like typed out and whatnot in Spanish or Italian, thanks to Google Translate. And they would send me back scanned PDFs of his handwritten note, which they would have to