The Militant Commie Feminist Who Was an Early Mentor to Pope Francis

WaPo reveals:

His mother had wanted him to be a doctor, so he had to hide his theology books from her as he prepared for the seminary.

At the lab where he worked, Francis met one of the other women he mentions as a major influence in his life: his supervisor Ester Ballestrino. She was a Paraguayan feminist and communist militant, in her 30s, and she became a mentor to Francis. The two maintained a friendship for many years to follow.

This was a relatively quiet time in Argentina, before the storm that would split the country and Francis’s own Jesuit order.

   -RW