Pope's Argentine nephew donated tickets to travel to funeral

An Argentine nephew of Pope Francis said Thursday a private donor had paid for him to travel to his uncle's funeral after the government failed to invite him to join officials travelling to Rome.

Mauro Bergoglio, son of Francis's late brother Oscar Bergoglio, was offered tickets for him and his partner by a businesswoman who had heard him tell a TV programme on the domestic A24 news channel he could not afford the trip.

"I never asked for a favour; it was offered to me, and the truth is that I accepted because it was the only chance I had to say goodbye," Mauro, a nurse by profession, told Radio Mitre from Rome on Thursday. 

President Javier Milei is set to travel to Rome later Thursday with six members of his government, but no family member of the pope, who was born Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires.

The seeming oversight elicited criticism from the political opposition and social media users.

Argentina's secretary of Worship & Cults, Nahuel Sotelo, replied on X he had spoken to the pope's nephew, who ruled out travelling to Rome. 

It turned out he was referring to a different nephew, José – the son of the pontiff's last surviving sibling, María Elena Bergoglio.

Mauro's sister, Vanesa, reportedly wrote on X that her brother had "truly wanted to be there" for the funeral of "our last uncle."

"We are not media personalities, we are workers, and like most people, we barely make it to the end of the month," Vanesa said in the message quoted by local media before she restricted access to her account.

"I am grateful to the media for allowing him to make that trip," she added, referring to the TV programme that drew attention to his quest.

The pope's other siblings were Alberto Horacio and Marta Regina.

– TIMES/AFP