An Argentinian family that made a detour into South Jersey during their 13,000-mile, 194 day trip to see Pope Francis got to meet his Holiness. It took 194 days and 12 border crossings, but the family arrived on Monday, September 21, 2015.
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Catire (cah-TEE’-ray) Walker and Noel Zemborain (zem-bor-YN’) and their four children finished their six-month journey this week.
When they were finally there and in his presence, Francis looked at them and, laughing, said: “You are the family who traveled from Buenos Aires? It was very refreshing to hear them tell their story”.
Zemborain says the family passed through 13 countries and stayed with dozens of host families.
The pope then turned to a church official and, in Italian, emphasized the symbolism of the family’s journey for the World Meeting of Families, according to Zemborain, who also speaks Italian. Pope Francis said, using the Latin American nickname for the vintage Volkswagen buses. They schooled their children – Cala, 12; Dimas, 8; Mia, 5; and Carmin, 3 – with the help of a distance learning program.
“There were many things that stopped us, many fears”. Notable among them was Andrea Blanco and her husband, William Cardona, of Diocese of Raleigh’s Hispanic ministry, who hosted them a few weeks ago when the family arrived at Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Zemborain, Walker and the kids plan to continue traveling until November. The Volkswagen was initially planned to be shipped back to Argentina – however, a relative has agreed to drive the van all the way from Miami to Buenos Aires! Francisca broke down 30 miles outside Philadelphia on Sunday, temporarily delaying the family’s grand arrival.
