Those who have listened to Pope Francis address congregations, audiences and gatherings; they have heard a voice in the back ground translating his message and sermons from Spanish to English. He is always clad in his trade mark black robe and he trails the pope, he occasionally whispers into the pontiff’s ear and sometimes speaking directly into the mic. Monsignor Mark Miles is the linguistic bridge between the Spanish-speaking Francis and his English-speaking audiences. He has accompanied the pope on several international trips and been at his side in some illustrious company, including President Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Queen Elizabeth II.
Mosignor Miles was born in Gibraltar, the British-ruled rocky outcrop in southern Spain, which also explains why he speaks English and Spanish fluently, hence his ability to serve as Pope Francis’ interpreter.
His clipped British accent and his looks have some female fans atwitter — or a-Twitter, the social network on which they’ve shared their avowedly unspiritual devotion. (“Father forgive me,” wrote one admirer; “cutest dimple ever,” cooed another.)
Miles himself prefers to stay out of the spotlight, declining to give interviews. Little is known about the monsignor except that he is 48, attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, the training ground of Vatican diplomats, and had official postings in Ecuador and Hungary. According to the Roman Catholic journal The Tablet, Miles is “affable, bright and hardworking,” sings well and likes to cycle.
Of the 18 speeches Francis was delivering in the United States, only four were in English, including the address to a joint meeting of Congress. The rest he delivered were in his native Spanish.
Miles’ biggest challenge is keeping up with a boss known for going off script. On a stop in the Philippines in January, Francis decided to rip up his prepared homily in favor of an impromptu address and gave his put-upon aide a shout-out: “I have a translator, a good translator!”
Miles’ job at the pope’s side can be even more difficult, since his interpretation has to be instant. He’s earned kudos for a style that’s almost akin to method acting, mimicking the pope’s emphases and inflections and laughing in the same places.
“He does a pretty good job, I have to say,” Mickens said. “Miles knows Spanish and Italian and English, of course, so he triangulates this thing. He’s very good at it.”
Source: Internet.
