Day 8 – Inter-faith; Inter-esting

Day 8 – Inter-faith; Inter-esting

Warning - there is a fabulous story here, but only a couple of pictures. If you are in kindergarten and like picture books, then skip to the next blog (Day 9). If you are interested in what is happening in other parts of the world, read on!!!

After a casual breakfast and some necessary gym time, we were picked up by some of Bob’s relatives to go to Grandma’s apartment for a big family Noon meal (this is their family tradition on the Sabbath – they are a Jewish family).The relevant cast of characters is:

Lori – Bob’s sister-in-law

Judith – Lori’s son (Brad) married Judith’s daughter (Tamar/Tami)

Mauricio – Judith’s husband

Lillianna – Judith’s sister

Victor – Lillianna’s husband

Maruca – Judith and Lillianna’s mother – Grandma

Bob  - - -  Lori      Mauricio---H/W--Judith = sisters = Lillianna---W/H--Victor

                    |                               |                                                           |

                 Brad-----H/W--------Tami                                             (daughter)---W/H--(son-in-law)

Of course, I fit into this picture as Bob’s friend, and in a very tangled string, I have a connection to Victor's son-in-law. The importance of this will all become clear just a few paragraphs from now.

So, Mauricio and Judith brought Lori to our hotel to pick us up. We went to Maruca’s 28^th floor apartment that overlooked all of Asuncion and the surrounding areas. It was a very nice place. Other family members were arriving in a steady stream until we had about 18 people squeezed around a large dining room table. I sat and talked mostly to Mauricio and his two sons – Ariel and Natan; sisters of Tami). Ariel gave me a very interesting historical account of Paraguay – independence from the Spanish in 1811; growing economy and sophistication and leading South America in many ways (first train/railroad in SA, first telegraph, first iron mining and first steel production factory, etc.). Then, in the mid-1800’s, Argentina and Brazil and Uruguay conspired to attack Paraguay, with British financing, and decimated the country (92% of the men in the country were killed over six years!). Some say it set Paraguay back 100 years, and it is only now that the country has enjoyed a couple of decades of good economic growth and political stability (they overthrew a dictator in 1989 on this very day, Feb 2^nd – it was the 30-year anniversary!).

After a large lunch, Mauricio and Judith drove us around parts of Asuncion for the afternoon. They dropped us off at the hotel about 5pm with a promise to pick us up at 8pm for dinner. Steve and Bob took some time to wander around our hotel area for the early evening. In a very uncharacteristic deviation from Paraguayan culture, Mauricio showed up precisely on time and took us back to their apartment for some wine and appetizers prior to dinner. They have a VERY lovely place and we sat around the kitchen table drinking wine from the Algodon Estates that we had brought along with cheeses, crackers, fruits, olives, etc. Quite a spread!

Lori, Judith, Mauricio, Bob.

The requisite selfie!

They were swapping family stories and Steve was listening with interest. There was humor, shared memories and, on occasion, different recollections of past events. It was delightful. Some of the conversation turned to me being Catholic among this Jewish family (note – Bob is Christian at this point in his life), and we talked about me going to Mass at the Asuncion Cathedral as well as our visit to the Cathedral in Buenos Aires where the present Pope Francis was previously an Archbishop and Cardinal.

NOW, HERE IS THE INCREDIBLE PART.

Victor and Lillianna live in the only other apartment next door to Mauricio and Judith on their floor. It turns out that Victor has a son-in-law that grew up with Jorge Mario Bergoglio (i.e. Pope Francis). Subsequently, that son-in-law grew into a very prominent role in the Jewish community in all of South America (President of the Jewish Federation in South America or some such important thing). Similarly, Jorge became Archbishop of Buenos Aires and eventually a Cardinal (one step below the Pope) in the Catholic Church. The two met periodically over the years for inter-faith gatherings and meetings. So, Victor’s son-in-law  and Pope Francis are life time buddies!!!!! Some family and friends of Victor's family went to the Vatican a few years ago. They were to meet Pope Francis, but some of the papal entourage turned them away. Victor's family/friends told the papal folks to call Victor's son-in-law (as his son-in-law had instructed them to do). Apparently, the papal folks called Victor’s son-in-law back in Paraguay and got to the Pope, at which point, the Pope came to the door and invited them to have lunch with him!!!  Is this too unbelievable?!? So, I was told that if I am ever in the Vatican again, I should let Victor know and he will see what he can do through his son-in-law for me to meet the Pope. In the meantime, they are going to see if they can get an autographed picture of Pope Francis with a personalized note to me. What an incredible evening!! I mean, you can’t make this stuff up - a bunch of Jewish connections in Paraguay trying to connect a Catholic guy from Indianapolis with the Pope!! But there is more …

Did I mention that 2.5 hours had passed, and we still had to go to dinner! We arrived at a very nice Italian restaurant at about 10:45 and sat down for dinner – the usual crazy late hour for these people. It was a spectacular dinner, and Mauricio hosted all of us. Our incredible fun and conversation continued where I learned that a Lazard grandfather played major league baseball and was on the Chicago “Black” Sox team (the infamous team that intentionally lost the World Series in 1919 because of a gambling scandal). I could go on and on … When dinner was over, Mauricio took us back to the hotel after midnight. I for one was ready to crash, but not before snickering at all I had heard and comforted in the friendship that was extended to me, a stranger, by some remarkably kind and generous people.