Buenos Aires ( CNN ) -- Maria Elena Bergoglio was in her home west of Buenos Aires last week when she heard the shocking news : Jorge Mario Bergoglio -- her brother -- was the new pope . In the past , she had prayed that the cardinals would n't pick him . `` During the previous conclave , I was praying for him not to be elected ... because I did n't want my brother to leave , '' she told CNN en EspaÃ±ol on Monday . `` It 's a position that was a little selfish . '' But this time around , Bergoglio said she changed her tone . `` I prayed that the Holy Spirit would intervene and not listen to me . And it did n't listen to me , '' she said , laughing . `` It did what it wanted . '' Last week , soon after the white smoke billowed out from the Sistine Chapel chimney , she heard her brother 's voice crackling through the telephone line . `` I almost died , '' she said . `` The telephone rang and my son answered . I heard him say , 'ooooh , God . ' I could n't believe it . '' Her brother , who chose the name Pope Francis , told her not to worry and reassured her he was well -- something she 's also seen watching his face as the events of recent days unfolded on television . `` I told him I wanted to hug him , '' she said , `` and he told me that we are already embracing from a distance , which is also something that I feel and that is real . '' Then , the pope told her to pass along his warm greetings to the rest of the family . `` He said , ' I can not call everyone . We are a very big family , so please send them my love . Because if I call everyone , it will empty the Vatican coffers , ' `` Bergoglio said . Standing outside her house in a middle-class area about 45 minutes from Argentina 's capital , she laughed Monday as she described his comments . She said it was a sign that even now , thousands of miles away in Europe and in the highest office in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church , her brother showed the same sense of humor he displayed since their childhood growing up in Argentina . `` I think that 's why he became pope ... if he had to be firm in something , he was , '' she said . `` But he was always like that , with a sense of humor . '' It 's clear , Bergoglio said , that her brother -- the first pope from Latin America -- will be a pope for the masses . `` I feel like the church opened its doors , and said to the world , `` Here I am . I belong to everyone . I am not from one continent , but absolutely belong to everyone . ' '' She dismissed concerns raised by critics who accuse Francis of being complicit with Argentina 's brutal military dictatorship from the 1970s -- an accusation the Catholic Church denies . `` I am sure , and that is where my calmness is born , that my brother did n't participate in that , '' she said . `` I do n't like to get involved in destructive and scandalous matters . Those rumors are destructive and my purpose is to construct , '' she said . `` So let them say what they want . '' Why Francis ? New pope explains his new name . CNN en EspaÃ±ol 's Jose Manuel Rodriguez reported from Buenos Aires . CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet wrote the story in Atlanta . CNN 's Rafael Romo contributed to this report .
The pope 's sister says she had previously thought that her brother would n't be picked . ` ` I did n't want my brother to leave ( Argentina ) , '' Maria Elena Bergoglio says . Now , the pope 's proud sister says he will be a martyr for the people . On the death of her brother : ` ` The church closed its doors . ''