Pope Francis’ sister, Maria Elena Bergoglio
said to be still shocked by the election of his brother as “the
possibility of being elected is something they had not talked or thought
about. Having a brother Pope is a blessing from God.”“When they announced it, the shock was tremendous, I cannot explain in words what I felt”, said Maria Elena in conversations to TV news channel Todo Noticias.
Maria Elena said that when he heard the news "I was with one of my sons I couldn’t hear the name, but when I heard “Jorge Mario” I started crying.”
Furthermore, she said she saw “the usual and same old Jorge, very relaxed but of course he must have been highly excited”, and added, “as soon as they named it I said to myself: “Poor man, he must be shocked listening to all those people shouting ‘Long live the Pope!’”
Maria Elena Bergoglio also revealed that his brother “did not want to be pope”, and that in 2005, when he finished second in the election to succeed John Paul II “I prayed so he was not elected.”
“I feel that we all have to pray a lot for him, because we are living in a very difficult world, plus the Church is going through very difficult times, and we need the constant help of God.”