Pope Francis together with his cousin Sister Ana Rosa Sivori
Reuters

The visit of Pope Francis in Thailand is his second visit in a country mostly dominated by Buddhists. This is part of his seven-day visit in Asia and as part of his visit in Thailand, he will also meet his cousin who happened to be a Catholic missionary.

Her cousin Sister Ana Rosa Sivori who is 77 years old will also be the translator of Pope Francis during his visit in Thailand. Sister Sivori is the vice principal at St. Mary's School located in the northeastern province of Udon Thani. She said that instead of calling him Pope, she called him Jorge.

In an article published in the Fox News, Sister Sivori has been in Thailand for 54 years as a missionary and have been assigned in different schools that are runned by their congregation. She said that both of them grew up together in Argentina and she is happy again to see Pope Francis since their last meeting in 2018.

Sister Sivori told a news agency that "We are a big family and we'd all get together for feasts, for celebrations," Moreover, Pope Francis and Sister Sivori's have the same great-grandfather. She also added that every time they meet they talk about their relatives and she never called him Pope but rather she called him as Jorge. Pope Francis' name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio and adopted only the name of Francis to honor St. Francis of Assisi when he was voted as the Pope.

Despite the fact that Sister Sivori is happy to meet and see her cousin, she is also sad because the Pope cannot visit the poorest areas in Thailand which is always the prime mission of Pope Francis. However, Sister Sivori said that she knew deep in her heart that the Pope is doing whatever he can to reach the poor even if nobody is talking about it.

Pope Francis visit in Thailand will be from Nov. 20 to 23. In an another interview from Reuters, Sister Sivori said that she never expects that the Pope will visit Thailand in his seven-day visit in Asia because Thailand is a Buddhist country. However, she is happy to see the Pope and is excited also that the people in Thailand will see him.

Though, Sister Sivori and Pope Francis are second-degree cousins, Sister Sivori said that they were not close during their younger years because Pope Francis was six years older when he became as Pope. One of the reasons also is that she joined the congregation at a very young age and have been in Thailand for 54 years. She stayed in Thailand since 1966 and have worked in the different schools across the country to do missionary works.

The last time they meet was in 2018 during the visit of Sister Sivori to her relatives in Argentina. They talk about their relatives and also about books. Both of them love to read books. There was a time according to Sister Sivori that Pope Francis brought her in a room filled with books and told her to get what she wants.

Meanwhile, Sister Sivori will travel ahead of the Pope's arrival in Bangkok and will be with him during his three day visit as requested by Pope Francis. The Pope will meet the King of country King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the supreme Buddhist patriarch, Catholic leaders and students, before flying on to another country in Asia which is Japan.