Fr Robert Prevost Was Reported Dead in a Newspaper
Lovera recently published the book From Roberto to León: Friendship, memory and mission about his memories of Pope Leo XIV.
Originally from Iquitos, Peru, the author met then Father Robert Prevost in Trujillo and shared conversations and daily life with him for years. His book paints a hagiography of him as a "simple man with a sense of humor and a great capacity to listen." Lovera explained the circumstances of when Prevost was declared dead.
A young Augustinian postulant died in a bus accident while traveling to Lima for the New Year. The parents of the deceased who were from a rural area north of Trujillo, couldn’t retrieve their son’s body. Therefore, they asked Father Prevost to bring it back to their village.
Father Prevost drove over 2,000 kilometers round trip to do them this favor. They wrote Prevost's name down incorrectly and included him on the list of victims, which was published in a local Trujillo newspaper.
When people found out, especially the poorest in the parish, they went to the Augustinian house in tears, newspaper in hand, to offer their condolences.
But, to their surprise, it was Father Prevost himself who opened the door.
#newsOhcjypvmup