In his parish in Argentina where he lives, Dries Swinnen is called: Padre Andres. “Even my good friend Jorge (Pope Francis, Editor’s note) calls me that. But for my family, I am still Dries”confided the 84-year-old Jesuit to the Catholic weekly Kerk&Leven.
Dries Swinnen is the son of Ward Swinnen. This father from Lendelede (north of Kortrijk) emigrated to Argentina with his wife and children in 1936, the year of the birth of the current pope. He had been appointed director in the textile and linen factory Algodonera Flandria founded near Buenos Aires by the Belgian Jules Steverlynck (nicknamed Don Julio) in the 1920s.
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It is at the Jesuit seminary that their paths cross. Dries and Jorge joined the Ignacian order almost at the same time. Jorge loved spending the weekend with the Swinnen family with his friend Dries. Their mothers had become friends.
Dries and Jorge play tennis. They participate in musical events. Concerned about providing moments of relaxation for his employees, Ward Swinnen founded a brass band, the Banda de Música Rerum Novarum which still exists today. There was also a football team for the factory employees Villa Flandria. She played in the colors of… Flanders (yellow and black). It is said that, in the stadium, Flemish lion flags were flapping in the wind.
Among the Jesuits, their paths are similar. In 1973, Jorge Bergoglio was appointed provincial superior of the Jesuits in Argentina. Dries Swinnen succeeds him in 1979. During Bergoglio’s mandate, Argentina fell into dictatorship. When difficulties arise, the two Jesuits support each other. A friendship is thus forged between the two men that will stand the test of time. Even today, Dries and Jorge exchange an email or WhatsApp from time to time.
