Pope Francis leaves voice mail for nuns in Spain on New Year’s Eve

Nuns in a convent in southern Spain have been surprised by Pope Francis with a message left on an answer machine on New Year’s Eve.

Pope Francis was previously archbishop of Buenos Aires and knew some of the nuns at the convent as they also are from Argentina.

The nuns were at prayer when the Pope rang.

On hearing the message, they rang their bishop to try to get back in contact, but Pope Francis rang back in the evening.

Sister Adriana, the prioress of the convent, told COPE radio “she wanted to die” on hearing the message.

“Our friendship goes back 15 years but I never thought the Pope would remember us,” she said.

A recording of the message has been played on Spanish media.

“What can the nuns be doing that they can’t answer?” the message begins.

“Pope Francis speaking, I wanted to say hello to you at the end of the year. I’ll see if I can call you again later. God bless you.”

Since taking up his post last year, Pope Francis has struck a more informal note than his predecessor, underlining his reputation for simplicity and humility.