“Look, it’s as impossible for me to become Pope as it is for me to be Pope, [I promise] if I am, you’re going to make my cassock,” said then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Graciela Meraviglia, an Argentine tailor who never imagined that phrase, said almost in jest, would become reality.
The Municipality of Avellaneda in Argentina shared Meraviglia's story and how she met Pope Francis on social media.
"Did you know that a woman from Avellaneda made Pope Francis' cassocks? 🕊 💛 Graciela Meraviglia is an ecclesiastical tailor, and on this special date, she shares her memory with us," the translated post states.
Meraviglia recounts that she met the future pontiff when he was not even a bishop yet.
“The abbot opens the door and says, 'Who are you looking for?' I say, 'Father Jorge.' I thought I would see a hooded monk praying, but no. A shirt, a little sweater, a wooden desk, and a wooden Saint Joseph, very austere.”
During that first meeting, Meraviglia explained that she had come to take measurements for a cassock. Surprised, Father Jorge asked her why she needed it, and she replied, "You don't know you're going to be a monsignor?"
"He said to me: 'What, me, monsignor?' I said to him: 'Yes, you're going to be a monsignor.' He said to me: 'What a gypsy, you're predicting my future.'"
When he was named cardinal, they met again. On that occasion, Bergoglio humorously asked her: "And now where do I go?"
"I think I can become Pope. He told me: 'Look, it's as impossible for me to become Pope as it is for me to become Pope, and if I am Pope, I promise, you're going to make my cassock.'"
The spontaneous promise was fulfilled.
On March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was appointed the new Pontiff of the Catholic Church, taking the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.
"He kept his promise, because one day I was at home and he called me on the phone. He said, 'Are you coming to make my cassock?' I was lucky enough to have him wear it, and it turned out perfectly."
The video in Spanish went viral, accumulating more than 53,000 likes.
Numerous social media users expressed their gratitude for Meraviglia's testimony. Among them, one stands out in particular, adding a valuable complement to the story.
“I remember one afternoon I was chatting with Graciela in her real estate office on Las Flores Street (since she made the albs for us acolytes) and the phone rang. It was Jorge Bergoglio, calling her to make him a cassock since he was becoming a cardinal. Graciela told me that day that Jorge didn't want to wear a cassock but had no other choice, and that he asked her to make him a cassock that was as humble as possible.”