Pope Francis’ confessor dies in Argentina at age 98

(ZENIT News / Buenos Aires, 07.03.2025).- Cardinal Luis Pascual Dri, the Argentine Capuchin friar who spent his final years quietly ministering from a confessional in Buenos Aires, died on the evening of June 30 at the age of 98. His funeral was held at the Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Nueva Pompeya, where he had lived for nearly two decades. The Mass of Burial, celebrated on July 2, was presided over by the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva.

Though elevated to the cardinalate only in 2023, at the age of 96, Dri had long been a silent cornerstone of the Church in Argentina—an embodiment of pastoral mercy and humility. He was known not for ecclesial offices or public statements, but for his simple fidelity: hours upon hours spent in the confessional, listening, guiding, and forgiving.

Born on April 17, 1927, in Federación, Entre Ríos, into a family where nearly all his siblings embraced religious life, Dri entered the Capuchin seminary at age 11. He made his perpetual profession in 1949 and was ordained in Montevideo in 1952. For decades, his ministry spanned both Uruguay and Argentina, serving as seminary director, novice master, educator, and pastor in numerous cities, including Montevideo, Mar del Plata, and Villa Gobernador Gálvez.

But it was in the Santuario de Pompeya in Buenos Aires that Dri’s quiet ministry left its deepest mark. Even after his formal retirement in 2007, he remained an active confessor, known for his tireless patience and fatherly wisdom. It was here that a young Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio—now Pope Francis—sought him out for confession and spiritual counsel.

Pope Francis would later speak of Dri as a model of merciful priesthood. When struggling with the idea of forgiving too generously, the pope said, “I think of Father Dri, and I find peace.” His elevation to the College of Cardinals was not a reward for administrative service or theological prominence, but a public recognition of a priest whose holiness was rooted in listening, forgiving, and welcoming.

The Argentine Bishops’ Conference (CEA) expressed deep sorrow at his passing, calling him “an endearing figure for the Church in our country,” and “a tireless confessor and witness to God’s merciful love.” In a message signed by its executive board, the CEA described Dri as a “humble pastor” who “served the Lord with fidelity, simplicity, and joy,” particularly in his ministry to the poor and forgotten.

Throughout his life, Cardinal Dri avoided the spotlight. Yet his example now stands as a powerful symbol of what Pope Francis has repeatedly called the “Church of the peripheries”—a Church that heals, that listens, and that forgives. In an age often marked by polarization and abstraction, Dri offered something entirely different: an open door, a listening heart, and a tangible sign of divine mercy.

He died as he had lived—quietly, faithfully, and at peace. But in the lives he touched and the hearts he reconciled, his legacy endures.

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