Argentine silversmith speaks of chalice he is crafting for his friend, Pope Francis

(Vatican Radio) An Argentine silversmith in Buenos Aires who is a long-standing friend of Pope Francis is making the finishing touches on a special hand-crafted chalice for the Pope. The two men have known each other for over a decade, dined together many times when Cardinal Bergoglio was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and often ran into each other when getting their hair cut at a barber shop in the neighbourhood where they both lived.

Aged 71, Pallarols is a world-renowned silversmith who has crafted pieces for a long line of celebrities including Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra and Sharon Stone. Pallarols’ planned gift for the Pope is a truly global collaboration. In an interview he told Vatican Radio he travelled around and got hundreds of thousands of people from 17 different countries to hammer more than 10 billion chisel marks onto the silver chalice he hopes to bring to Rome this spring to formally present to Pope Francis.

Pallarols said he visited Italy in 2005 and described a meal he had with Cardinal Bergoglio at a restaurant in Rome’s historic centre. The Argentine Cardinal was in Rome to take part in the conclave and subsequent installation mass for Pope Benedict following the death of Blessed John Paul II. Pallarolls also said that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio had presided over the wedding mass for his son.

When asked to describe the personality of Jorge Bergoglio, Pallarols said he was “a very special person.” He was "very humble", a person who didn’t speak a lot but was a very good listener. He said the Cardinal was always trying to provide help to people in the poor neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, especially young people who had no money or job or who suffered from drug addictions.

(Photo shows Juan Carlos Pallarols dining with the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio at a Rome restaurant in 2005.)