El Papa, la papa y el papá / The Pope, the potato and the dad ,.- 5 minutes of Spanish + Podcast / English version- Podcast 234

 

El humo blanco

Spanish version

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on where you are or the time you're listening.

Thank you for joining us in this episode where we celebrate Spanish as a living language, full of history, music, and movement.

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That's why today we have a current topic: we're going to talk about the election of the new Pope in the Catholic Church.

A religious topic in a language podcast? I don't know, Male...

Don't worry, we're not going to have Mass. We're going to play with language. Look: we're going to talk about "la papa," "el papá," and "el Papa."

Oh, right! Those words sound the same, but they mean different things. Homonyms, right?        

Homónimos   homonyms 

Empezamos con: El Papa (con mayúscula, with capital letters) He is the head of the Catholic Church, also known el Pontífice o el Obispo de Roma.

El Pontífice   The Pontiff – The Pope

Obispo- bishop

La papa )potatoe)(con minúscula, lowercase), es un tubérculo, very important in Latin American cuisine. Its origin is in America, especially in present-day Peru.

Tubérculo- tuber

 ¡Las papas fritas son deliciosas! (French fries are delicious!)

¡Y el puré también! mashed potatoes too!

And don´t forget (Y no olvidemos al papá) (dad),  also (también) papito o daddy n a loving tone.

 ¡O ell, last Thursday, May 8th, white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome.

And what does that mean?

That after two days of conclave, a new Pope was elected. American Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new pontiff. His papal name is Leo XIV.jo! ¡No hay que confundir! (Be careful! Don’t get confused!)

 

Cónclave- conclave

¡Tenemos Papa! (We have a Pope!) That's what they say when they elect him, right?

Yes, and thousands of people celebrated in St. Peter's Square.

And do you know where the word "Pope" comes from?

It comes from the Greek pappas, which meant "father" or "dad." This form also existed in classical Latin. Later, it was used to refer to the leader of the Church.

And who is this new Pope, Leo XIV?

His name is Robert Francis Prevost. He was born in Chicago, USA, in 1955. He is 69 years old and will turn 70 in September.

But he's also Peruvian by adoption, right?

Yes, he lived in Peru for over 40 years. He worked in the Diocese of Chiclayo, where he was bishop. Chiclayo is a city in northern Peru on the coast, excellent for surfing.

In his first speech as Pope, he greeted his "beloved Diocese of Chiclayo" in Spanish. It was very moving.

Did you know that as a child he dreamed of being a baseball player? And he studied engineering before deciding to enter the seminary.

I didn't know that! A very interesting life. And now he takes the name Leo XIV, in honor of Pope Leo XIII and his famous encyclical Rerum Novarum, published in 1891.

Encíclica    encyclical

It's a solemn letter that the Pope wrote for priests and the faithful. This encyclical spoke of workers' rights, fair wages, and rejected both communism and unbridled capitalism. It was the basis of the Church's social doctrine.

They say he follows the ideas of Pope Francis and that he will be a Pope deeply committed to social justice.

And why another Latin American Pope?

Well, if we look at the countries with the most Catholics in the world, many are Latin American. Let's run some numbers:

The country with the most Catholics is Brazil – 140 million. One of the most impressive Catholic expressions is the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the country's patron saint, which every October 12th brings together millions of faithful.

And the second?

The second is Mexico – 101.3 million. The celebration of December 12th, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, stands out, when millions of pilgrims flock to the Basilica in Mexico City, one of the largest pilgrimages in the world.

In 2024, 12 million people made the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, and we also have other deeply felt religious holidays, including the Day of the Dead.

Third: The Philippines – 85.6 million. Another Filipino Cardinal was a favorite for Pope, and the Philippines were also conquered by Spain.

And fourth?

The United States – 85.3 million. There are many American Catholics, for example, all descendants of Irish families.

Fifth is the Democratic Republic of the Congo – 60 million. Many charismatic Catholics. Beautiful ceremonies are held with drums and, of course, a lot of rhythm. Holy Week and Christmas are especially important moments.

And sixth is Italy, of course, it exudes Catholicism. Italy has 50 million believers.

Seventh is France – 44 million. The pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Lourdes stands out, where thousands of sick and believers seek physical and spiritual healing.

Eighth: Colombia, another Latin American country – 37.9 million. An important expression of this is the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Montserrat in Bogotá, which is especially crowded during Holy Week.

Ninth: Spain – 33 million. In Spain, Holy Week processions, like those in Seville or Malaga, with their floats and Nazarenes, are famous for their solemnity and beauty. There's a lot of religious tourism in Spain and Italy, right Eduardo?

Yes, and Mexico also has events that are very beautiful to enjoy, whether you're Catholic or not.

Tenth: Argentina – 31.2 million. Pope Francis was from Argentina.

Many millions of Catholics in Latin American countries! Now I understand why they say a Pope who also represents Latin America was necessary.

Well, since Pope Leo XIV is American-Peruvian, we can agree that he's American. And let's remember that he's also the head of state of the Vatican, the smallest country in the world.

So this issue isn't just religious; it's geopolitical and linguistic as well.

We learned vocabulary like: tuber (tuber), Pontiff (Pontiff), encyclical (encyclical), and we practiced numbers.

And most importantly: we remembered that potato, dad, and Pope… have nothing to do with each other, even though they're spelled almost the same.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in the workshops or in the next episode!

Contact us to practice more Spanish. If you liked the podcast, please share it.

See you soon.

Bye, bye.