CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A history professor from Argentina is mourning the loss of Pope Francis.


What You Need To Know

  • Jorge Troisi-Melean, who usually lives and works in Argentina, is a visiting professor at UNC Charlotte

  • Troisi-Melean talked to his history class about the passing of Pope Francis

  • Troisi-Melean said "we need that kind of voices today" when talking about the pope

  • He was saddened to hear about the pope's death Easter Monday

Jorge Troisi-Melean, a visiting professor at UNC Charlotte, incorporated the news of the pope’s death into a history lesson he taught during one of his classes. 

Troisi-Melean teaches a class on authoritarian regimes in Latin America. 

Easter Monday, he spent the beginning of class reading articles with students about the coverage of the pope’s death from different outlets. 

“I think you can apply for being a good historian to, to work on primary sources, like a newspaper, to balance your own ideas, even with your professor’s ideas,” Troisi-Melean said. 

He said this subject is also relevant for this history class.

“I think the students need to understand how religion is important for Latin American people and how an institution like the Catholic Church is also important for them. Not only in a religious point of view, but also in a political point of view,” Troisi-Melean said. 

Troisi-Melean is familiar with church history because it was part of his research. 

In addition, he was in Argentina when the first Latin American pontiff was chosen.

“As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was always in touch with poor people,” Troisi-Melean said. 

He was excited the day Francis was elected pope and continued to be proud of him during his papacy, which was marked by humility and openness. 

Troisi-Melean was saddened to learn about the pope’s death Easter Monday. 

“I grew up Catholic but I feel sad, not because I'm Catholic, because I'm human. And I think Pope Francis was a guy who tried to open, I would say, not only the church, but I would say to open Heaven to everyone,” Troisi-Melean said. 

In the coming weeks, he plans to continue following the selection process for a new pope, while on a personal level, remembering Francis. 

“We need him. We need that kind of voices today to talk about us, to talk about humans. Not to talk about money, not to talk about material things,” Troisi-Melean said. 

He never met Francis, but he saw him by chance in Argentina before he became pope.