{"id":72525,"date":"2026-08-19T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72525\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:20:14","slug":"a-nurse-from-barcelona-gives-pope-a-book-on-her-brother-his-life-had-meaning-because-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72525\/","title":{"rendered":"A nurse from Barcelona gives Pope a book on her brother: ‘His life had meaning because of love’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elisabet Argem\u00ed, a nurse from ICOF Hospital Cl\u00ednic in Barcelona, spoke briefly with Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo and gave him “Learning to Die in Order to Live”, a book that recounts the testimony of her brother, Xavier Argem\u00ed, who died at the age of 29 from muscular dystrophy.<\/p>\n

By Sebasti\u00e1n Sans\u00f3n Ferrari \u2013 Castel Gandolfo<\/p>\n

Until the very last moment, Elisabet Argem\u00ed did not know whether she would have the opportunity to speak with Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, August 18, in Castel Gandolfo, as the Pope was leaving the Apostolic Palace to return to the Vatican, the unexpected happened: the Pope\u2019s vehicle stopped, he lowered the window and addressed\u00a0her, saying \u201cTell me, tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elisabet, a nurse at ICOF Hospital Cl\u00ednic in Barcelona, used those brief moments to give Pope Leo a copy of Learning to Die in Order to Live, the book that recounts the testimony of her brother Xavier Argem\u00ed, who died last year at the age of 29 after living with muscular dystrophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a brother who loved life very much,\u201d she explained. Xavier often said that he felt loved and that he also loved others deeply. For him, that love gave meaning to his existence.<\/p>\n

His illness shaped his life, but it did not define its meaning. As his sister recalls, Xavier was able to accompany and help many people. After his death, many of them came to the wake. \u201cHe led a very holy life,\u201d Elisabet said as she remembered her brother.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The book Learning to Die in Order to Live, presented to the Holy Father\n <\/p>\n

A brief encounter with the Pope <\/p>\n

The exchange with Pope Leo lasted only a few moments, but it made a lasting impression on Elisabet. The Pope received the book and took time to listen to her. \u201cHe looked at me attentively, with interest and affection, like a father looking at his daughter,\u201d\u00a0she recalled.<\/p>\n

The book also included a personal dedication.\u00a0Elisabet had wanted to give the book to the Pope in Barcelona, but in the end she had been unable to do so. The encounter in Castel Gandolfo finally made it possible.<\/p>\n

The gesture therefore took on a special meaning. It presented Pope Leo with the testimony of a young man whose life was marked by illness, but also by a simple conviction \u2014\u00a0the value of life does not depend solely on the circumstances in which one lives, but on the ability to love and to allow oneself to be loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cLifting our eyes each day\u201d <\/p>\n

Elisabet also recalled her experience during the Pope\u2019s apostolic journey to Spain in June. She followed his activities closely, took part in the vigil at Montju\u00efc and\u00a0joined the crowds in the streets of Barcelona during those days.<\/p>\n

\"Prayer<\/p>\n

\n Prayer Vigil at Barcelona\u2019s Llu\u00eds Companys Olympic Stadium on June 9, 2026 \u00a0 (@Vatican Media)\n <\/p>\n

For her, one of the central messages of that journey \u2014 \u201cLift up your eyes\u201d \u2014 can also shed light on how to continue Xavier\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy lifting our eyes each day and keeping our gaze firmly raised,\u201d she replied. She explained that, from her perspective, this way of looking at life is sustained by a relationship with Jesus, \u201cour friend and our love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prayer, the sacraments and the Gospel are part of this daily journey, according to her experience. So too is the Pope\u2019s accompaniment through his audiences, writings and words.<\/p>\n

Amid the challenges of today\u2019s world,\u00a0Elisabet believes that her brother\u2019s testimony continues to offer precisely this invitation: to look beyond illness and difficulties in order to discover what can give meaning to a life.<\/p>\n

Xavier died at the age of 29. His sister has decided to continue sharing his story. Now, that testimony has also reached the hands of Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elisabet Argem\u00ed, a nurse from ICOF Hospital Cl\u00ednic in Barcelona, spoke briefly with Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,18419,17579,70,17],"class_list":["post-72525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-book","tag-love","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}