With these words, Adrian Pallarols, a close friend of Pope Francis and commonly known as the Pope’s silversmith, remembered the late Pope during a recent interview with Vatican News.

Pope Francis married Adrian and his wife and baptized their children, Francesca and Matteo.

The seventh-generation silversmith used to meet with the Archbishop of Buenos Aires regularly and discuss theology and art over milk and cookies prepared by nuns. They met in 2002 during the restoration of the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, and in 2005, they created a chalice together, which they would gift to then-Pope Benedict XVI.

The collaboration continued throughout the years. In 2015, Adrian made the chalice used by the Pope during the 2015 Mass in Madison Square Garden in New York and in 2022, the trophy for the Match for Peace.

Coffee and chit chat

In Buenos Aires, Adrian remembers, “I used to knock on the door and ask him, ‘Father, if you are free, if you have five minutes, I would like to have a coffee with milk and a little chat.’ And he used to say, ‘Okay. Hold on for five, ten or twenty minutes,’ and then we used to have a coffee and chat a bit. He would give me a hug and we would pray a little bit together.”

Adrians recalls the meetings “used to be quick, but he never, on any occasion, said ‘no,'” because as Bergoglio used to say, “If you are here, it’s because God says you should be here. So let me see you. Tell me how you are and how’s the family…”

Gave me strength to face the day to day

The Holy Father, Adrian insists, “changed my life and healed me. He treated me like a brother, a father, a friend. He helped me build a better life—especially knowing that, due to some family shortcomings, there were areas in my life that weren’t whole. I’ve been blessed, thanks to him, to feel accompanied, protected, and strengthened.

“He gave me strength to face everyday life. I’ve become a father and have been able to lead a simple life, surrounded by love and joy—with problems, like everyone—but thanks to the strong guidance of this man, who, by the grace of Jesus, by the grace of God, crossed my path.”

Blessed us among bricks and dust

On a concrete level, Adrian also reflects on when he started his workshop in Buenos Aires.

He remembers how Bergoglio “came over, in the middle of nothing, because the building was just bricks and dust and very dirty since it was under construction”, but he was “unfazed. He blessed all the work and the workers and prayed for me to have a holy beginning, with the help of God.”

Bergoglio, Adrian recounts, was “so present” and he says how privileged he felt to know him.

Thinking about paying his respects to the late Pope in Rome, Adrian reflects, “I came here to honor my friend, my father, my shepherd, my family,” someone so dear to him after knowing him for “almost twenty eight years.”

After bringing to life a medallion commissioned in 1998, Adrian remembers Pope Francis “never stopped asking me for whatever he needed for ceremonies.” Yet, Adrian recalls, how emotional it was for him when his friend broke the news that he had been elected Pope, “‘Adrian, I’ll stay here in Rome.”

‘My son, don’t forget how much I love you’

“Pope Francis used to call me on my cell phone from time to time, even though he used to be very busy. His words when we would finish our conversation used to be, ‘My son, even when I am not able to be in touch, please don’t forget how much I love you.’

With a heavy heart, but taking comfort in his memories, Adrian expressed his love and friendship for the late Pope, and his certainty that he is now at peace and with his Father.

“Now,” Adrian concludes, “I know I have a real friend and a saint to pray to when I have troubles, when I need to have somebody to intercede for me to God.”