Pope Francis’ Five Years

by Editor · March 11, 2018

Pope Francis prays at the Ardeatine Caves Memorial in Rome on the feast of All Souls. The site honours 335 Italian citizens who were killed there by the Nazis in 1944. (CNS photo/Evandro Inetti, pool)

Christ chose a small band of twelve everyday men and charged them with the awesome responsibility of teaching everyone on earth about him and his mission.

He also chose a scholarly man, initially fiercely opposed to this mission, the converted Saul of Tarsus, and gave him the same vocation, that of preaching with them the Good News to every nation on earth.

These apostles, including Peter whom Jesus chose to be the rock to stabilise their solidarity, could not accomplish this formidable task in their own lifetimes.

They ordained their successors to carry on the mission and to remember Jesus’ warning: “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16). Although he was chosen from among the cardinals of the Roman Church, he was never a Vatican-shaped bishop or a member of the Roman curia. He came from the Southern Hemisphere, the first pope in history to do so.

The imagery of sheep among wolves is a fearful one. Jesus prayed that it would be Peter who would sustain the others against such adversities: “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32).

At this time, the man to strengthen his brother bishops is Pope Francis, now five years in his post. Although he was chosen from among the cardinals of the Roman Church, he was never a Vatican-shaped bishop or a member of the Roman curia. He came from the Southern Hemisphere, the first pope in history to do so.

His formation as a Jesuit priest was in the environment of his home country Argentina. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he had to contend with the political strife of the 1970s when the Church and his Jesuit brothers were persecuted. “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

He said later that he regretted not doing more to resist the injustices of those times. Perhaps this twinge of conscience was at the root of his response to an interviewer, Fr Antonio Spadaro, who in June, 2013, asked him to define himself. Francis replied: “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

As archbishop of a city of very wealthy and very poor citizens, Francis made a point of being close to his flock, mixing with them on the streets and on the buses. In identifying himself with ordinary folk, he did not hide his limitations. The Acts of the Apostles describes how the pious Cornelius, recognising that Simon Peter had been sent by God, fell at the apostle’s feet to worship him. Peter disarmed him abruptly by saying: “Stand up. I am a human being just like you”

This fellow-feeling revealed itself immediately after his election. He saw past the grandeur of St Peter’s basilica, the magnificent architecture, the splendour of the robed clerics. We can guess that with this frame of mind he perceived the throngs in St Peter’s Square below him as fellow humans who, like him, were in need of Christ’s redemption, rather than as enthusiastic fans.

The Acts of the Apostles describes how the pious Cornelius, recognising that Simon Peter had been sent by God, fell at the apostle’s feet to worship him. Peter disarmed him abruptly by saying: “Stand up. I am a human being just like you” (Acts 10:26).

Here Peter appeared not only as a man given a divine mission to spread the Gospel but also as only a man.

Such is Pope Francis. He is head of Christ’s Church, bishop of the city of Rome with its long history of imperial might, military conquests, religious persecution, and the seat of popes. Unlike previous popes, he has not been influenced by the political and cultural pressures of Europe’s historical conflicts and geographical upheavals.

He can expect us to honour him and love him for his unique calling in the Church. Yet he wants us to realise that he is also one of us, the shepherd who smells like his sheep and who leads by walking with the flock rather than ahead of them.

Unlike previous popes, he has not been influenced by the political and cultural pressures of Europe’s historical conflicts and geographical upheavals. He has not lived in cities and villages where the traditions of past royal rulers and nobility may still dominate the Church and its membership.

He is a man of his time who, whatever the reaction to what he says and does, has set a firm course into the future. This is simply put in the first lines of his 2013 apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel):

“The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus … I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark on a new chapter of evangelisation marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.”