The two couples from Malaga who met Leo XIV a month ago and joked that he would be new Pope

Just a month before he was elected as the new Pope Leo XIV yesterday, the then Cardinal Prevost met with two couples from Malaga during their visit to Rome.

Pablo Pastor - the technical architect of the Diocese of Malaga - and his wife Mercedes Sánchez, both stongly associated with the religious community in the city, were with two friends when they decided to use their trip to visit the general headquarters of the Augustine order and reunite with old friend Javier Pérez Barba. Barba is currently the assistant general of the order for Southern Europe, but was once the director of Malaga's Colegio de Los Olivos.

As Pastor said, "there are three Augustinian friars who serve as sacristans for the Pope". It was during that visit that they met Cardinal Prevost, who Pastor has known for 18 years. The newly chosen Pope was in Malaga almost two decades ago, visiting the Colegio de Los Olivos, at the time when Barba was the director.

"He came, greeted us and we chatted for a while. We brought him a little bit of Iberian ham and Iberian pork loin and we ate it together. He loved it," said Pastor. "During the conversation, we talked about things related to the order. I told him that the Augustinians are a big family and that, although there are differences, we are well-connected."

Pastor spoke affectionately of Pope Leo XIV. "He is very approachable, affable, always smiling. I was very happy, because he is going to be a great Pope," he said.

The same impression was shared by the couple who accompanied him - Emilio Domingo and his wife Natalia Rivas. Also a technical architect, Domingo did not hide his "emotion and joy" for having met him in person and for having attended a meeting that will forever stay in his memory. "He speaks perfect Spanish and seems to be a very simple and affectionate person," he said, a few minutes after learning that the "charming" person he met on 5 April is now the new Pontiff. "That day was my saint's day and I could not have had a better gift. We have been blessed by God."

Although the conversation was brief and informal, Domingo said that they commented on the Spanish origin of the then Cardinal's surname - Martínez - and joked about the possibility of him being elected Pope. "He smiled kindly at us, but did not pronounce himself on the matter."

As practising Catholics, the two couples hold the meeting dearly, hoping that, one day, it will be repeated and be as enjoyable as it was when Leo XIV was only Robert Francis Prevost.