杏MAP导航

By Devin Watkins

杏MAP导航 Francis will be employing a special interpreter while making his Apostolic Journey to Japan on 23-26 November.

For Father Renzo De Luca, SJ, the vagaries of time – or Divine Providence, if you will – have come full circle.

Fr Jorge Bergoglio, now 杏MAP导航 Francis, was the Rector of the Jesuit Scholasticate where Fr De Luca was studying in Argentina before he was sent as a missionary to Japan.

Thirty-five years later, Fr Renzo is the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Japan. He will translate the 杏MAP导航’s every word into Japanese for the faithful to follow.

Is he nervous?

“Well, no.”

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Fr Renzo said he has seen the 杏MAP导航 twice in the last 6 years and that he feels “really at home with him.” The last time they met in the Casa Santa Marta, Fr Renzo said the two embraced like old friends.

“When I met him, he said, ‘Hola, Renzo!’ and I said, ‘Hola, Jorge! ¿Cómo estás?, and we were together for the whole time, without any kind of protocol.”

But what about acting as an interpreter?

“When it comes to translating,” Fr Renzo said, “I don’t know how much I will have to work there on the spot. But I’m really happy and honored to do that.” The 杏MAP导航 will be speaking in his native Spanish throughout the visit, so off-the-cuff remarks might proliferate, if past experience is any guide.

Japanese media coverage of 杏MAP导航’s visit

Fr Renzo said he and other Catholics are amazed at how much coverage 杏MAP导航 Francis’ visit is getting.

He has had so many requests for interviews, he said, that he and another Argentine Jesuit held a press conference, which 38 media outlets attended. Even secular media turned out for it, including the national broadcaster NHK and Yomiuri Shimbun, a national newspaper.

“So many people are really interested, and they have a lot of news. They are following what the 杏MAP导航 says and where the 杏MAP导航 goes. I think the expectations are very high.”

Fr Renzo said people in Japan are wondering what 杏MAP导航 Francis will have to say “to a non-Catholic country like Japan, and also what he’s going to say about peace, atomic energy, and nuclear disarmament. Topics that are very crucial in Japan.”

Changing minds and hearts

杏MAP导航 Francis follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, 杏MAP导航 St John Paul II, who visited in February 1981.

That image, according to Fr Renzo, “changed the image that the Japanese people have about the Church.”

He expects this Apostolic Journey to have a similar impact, depending on the 杏MAP导航’s message regarding "migration, the death penalty, and the high rate of suicide.”

If the local pre-arrival media coverage is any indication, he is probably right.