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Pope Francis meets with old friends in Ecuador

On his first official three-nation tour in South America, the pope took a detour to visit old friends.

By Marilyn Malara
Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with the youth on Piazza Vittorio in Turin, Italy on June 21, 2015. He is currently on his first 3-nation tour in South America. Photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI
1 of 3 | Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with the youth on Piazza Vittorio in Turin, Italy on June 21, 2015. He is currently on his first 3-nation tour in South America. Photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- A longtime friend of Pope Francis revealed details about simpler times, when the pope -- then referred to as "Jorge" by his friend -- would cook for his fellow seminarians.

In an interview with CNN's Rosa Flores, Father Peredes read an email sent by the religious leader and explained that it was sent just a month after obtaining the Catholic church's highest position. Now, the two reportedly correspond regularly via letters and email, all in Spanish.

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He reminisced on times in the mid-80s, when the church's Holy Father was instead head of the Jesuit seminary in Buenos Aires. Part of the pope's duties included washing clothes and cooking for his peers.

"Every Sunday, we had 'asadito' -- a lot of meat and Pope Francis was the chef," Peredes said. "It was something simple; but, still it was a lot of work for one person cooking for others."

Pope Francis embarked on his first three-country tour in South America on Sunday, where on the first stop, he met with Peredes in Ecuador. Also there, he took a detour to visit a friend whom he hasn't spoken to in nearly 30 years -- Father Francisco Cortes.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that Cortes, 91 -- known by his peers as Father Paquito -- was surprised the pope remembered him.

"Normally, a pope is a very distant figure," he told the outlet. "But with Francis, it is the exact opposite."

He is reported to have sent messages to Father Paquito in the months leading to his visit. In 2014, he had asked about him and expressed his wish to see him. Decades ago, the two men corresponded remotely for work, but Paquito never imagined he'd be remembered.

He told Wall Street Journal before the meeting the the first thing he'd ask his then-colleague is "Why?"

"For me, it is an act of humility to remember a person who is nothing special," he added.

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