By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ
On Sunday 23 March, Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of Rome's Gemelli Hospital, for the first time since his hospitalization and before leaving the facility where he had been since 14 February. During this period his he was very serious for many days. He greeted those present, imparted his blessing and gave the 'thumbs up' to the nearly three thousand people gathered in the square below who were applauding his appearance and release from hospital. He is now back in his residence at Santa Marta in the Vatican. For his deep faith, his resilience and the strength ‘not to give up’, we celebrate Pope Francis!
For the day’s Angelus message, he wrote, “In this long period of my hospitalization, I have had the opportunity to experience the Lord’s patience, which I also see reflected in the tireless care of the doctors and healthcare workers, as well as in the care and hopes of the relatives of the sick. This trusting patience, anchored in God’s unfailing love, is indeed necessary in our lives, especially when facing the most difficult and painful situations…I am saddened by the resumption of heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, causing many deaths and injuries. I call for an immediate halt to the weapons; and for the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages may be released and a final ceasefire reached. In the Strip, the humanitarian situation is again very serious and requires urgent commitment from the conflicting parties and the international community…You are continuing to pray for me with great patience and perseverance: thank you very much! I pray for you too. And together, let us pray for an end to wars and for peace, especially in tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” For his sense of gratitude and feelings for the victims of war, we celebrate Pope Francis!
A few days earlier, on 19 March 2025, Pope Francis completed full twelve years since his Papal inauguration. These twelve years have been a watershed moment in the history of the Church. Pope Francis has proved to be the person the world desperately needs at this moment of history, with his all-embracing, far-sighted vision and his unflagging mission to make this world a more humane, just, peaceful and loving place. He is truly a prophet for our times; for this, we celebrate Pope Francis!
The day Pope Francis assumed office is also the day on which the Catholic Church celebrates as the Feast of St. Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church. For Pope Francis, the Feast was not a mere coincidence; it was a clear message to the Church and the world, that he wanted his Pontificate to be modelled on the person and message of St Joseph. His homily at the Inaugural Eucharist focused on St Joseph. He said, “In the Gospels, St Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak, but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love….We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness…that exercising the role of protector as St Joseph did, means doing so discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. The Gospels present St Joseph as a husband to Mary, at her side in good times and bad, and as a father who watched over Jesus, worried about Him and taught Him a trade. St Joseph responded to his called to be a protector by being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply his own;” for this, we celebrate Pope Francis!
In focusing on the qualities of St Joseph, in his first homily, Pope Francis left no doubt that, he would be doing his best to imbibe some of these qualities personally. As one looks back at these past twelve years, the ‘Joseph’ in Francis has certainly defined his Papacy, in many different ways. St. Joseph epitomizes ‘caring and protecting’; he cares for and protects Mary and Jesus throughout. It was not easy to do so but he undertook the responsibility, which was entrusted to him with complete diligence. That is exactly what Pope Francis has been doing: caring and protecting one and all. He reaches out to the lonely and the sick, the youth and the aged, the poor and the vulnerable, the excluded and the exploited, the migrants and the refugees, the prisoners and all the victims of an unjust world, in ways most extraordinary. His caring and protecting reaches out to the whole of creation. He inspires and encourages others to do likewise. For all of this, we celebrate Pope Francis!
On 13 March 2013 Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina was elected as Supreme Pontiff and took the name of ‘Francis’. In his first speech as Pope from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he said, “You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have come almost to the ends of the Earth to get him ... And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with help of my Cardinal Vicar, be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city. And now I would like to give the blessing, but first I want to ask you a favour. Before the bishop blesses the people, I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me — the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer — your prayer for me — in silence. ... For his reliance on the prayers of ordinary people, for his great humility, for his desire to journey with people, we celebrate Pope Francis!
He took the name of ‘Francis’ …some wondered why? No Pope in the history of the Church had taken that name before. Some said that since he was a Jesuit, he took that name to follow in the footsteps of two great Jesuit Saints- Francis Xavier and Francis Borgia. But no, not them! The day before his Papal inauguration, speaking to the media he said, “as
as things got ‘dangerous’ in the conclave voting, I was sitting next to my great friend Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes who comforted me. When I was elected, Cardinal Hummes hugged me, kissed me and said, ‘Don’t forget the poor’ I took to heart the words of my friend and chose to be called after St. Francis of Assisi, the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation, the same created world with which we don’t have such a good relationship. How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor!” For being an authentic Franciscan to the core, we celebrate Pope Francis!
In November 2013, in his first Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ (the Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis set the tone and temper of his Papacy bluntly stating, “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.” … “The Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction…. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness.” He reminds us of our prophetic role, “Peace in society cannot be understood as pacification or the mere absence of violence resulting from the domination of one part of society over others. Nor does true peace act as a pretext for justifying a social structure, which silences or appeases the poor, so that the more affluent can placidly support their lifestyle, which others have to make do as they can. Demands involving the distribution of wealth, concern for the poor and human rights cannot be suppressed under the guise of creating a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority. The dignity of the human person and the common good rank higher than the comfort of those who refuse to renounce their privileges. When these values are threatened, a prophetic voice must be raised.” For his courage to walk the talk, we celebrate Pope Francis!
On 4 October 2020, Pope Francis gave to the world his Encyclical on Fraternity and Social Friendship ‘Fratelli Tutti’ (Brothers and Sisters All). It is radical in nature; it highlights and also challenges the core teaching of every major religion in the world. Pope Francis makes an urgent and passionate call for meaningful discipleship, of authentic witness in our world of today! It is blueprint for concerted action which is addressed to “brothers and sisters all” and in his opening remarks he states “although I have written it from the Christian convictions which inspire and sustain me, I have sought to make this reflection an invitation to dialogue among all people of good will" In sum and substance, it provides a clear direction to all women and men, irrespective of their religious /ideological beliefs, that if we are sincere about addressing the realities of today- ‘Fratelli Tutti’ is the path we must walk together. In his introductory remarks. Pope Francis sets the tone of the Encyclical saying, “In the preparation of Laudato Si’, I had a source of inspiration in my brother Bartholomew, the Orthodox Patriarch, who has spoken forcefully of our need to care for creation. In this case, I have felt particularly encouraged by the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, with whom I met in Abu Dhabi, where we declared that “God has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and has called them to live together as brothers and sisters”. This was no mere diplomatic gesture, but a reflection born of dialogue and common commitment. The present Encyclical takes up and develops some of the great themes raised in the Document that we both signed” That 2019 ‘Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together’ is therefore fundamental and pivotal to the entire journey of fraternity and social friendship. For building bridges, we celebrate Pope Francis!
Refugees, migrants and displaced persons have been the heart of Pope Francis’ papacy and is central to his spirituality of reaching out to others. He stated that, “Refugees are not numbers, they are people who have faces, names, stories, and need to be treated as such." In 2015, his message for the 101st World Day of Migrants and Refugees he said, “Solidarity with migrants and refugees must be accompanied by the courage and creativity necessary to develop, on a world-wide level, a more just and equitable financial and economic order, as well as an increasing commitment to peace, the indispensable condition for all authentic progress. Dear migrants and refugees! You have a special place in the heart of the Church, and you help her to enlarge her heart and to manifest her motherhood towards the entire human family. Do not lose your faith and hope! Let us think of the Holy Family during the flight in Egypt: Just as the maternal heart of the Blessed Virgin and the kind heart of Saint Joseph kept alive the confidence that God would never abandon them, so in you may the same hope in the Lord never be wanting. I entrust you to their protection and I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.” For his courage to accompany the ‘nowhere’ people for a more humane and dignified life, we celebrate Pope Francis!
The care for our common home has also been a hall-mark of Pope Francis’ papacy. Both in his Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ and in his Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ he has challenged the world to go beyond cosmetics and to address endemic and structural issues that destroy our environment. In ‘Laudato Si’ he clearly states, “I wish to address every person living on this planet…In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home… this sister (mother earth) now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life” The key question Pope Francis poses to each one of is, “what kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” For being the environmentalist the world desperately needs, we celebrate Pope Francis!
From washing the feet of Muslim women prisoners to entrusting women in responsible positions and with authority in the Vatican and in Church structures; to saying “who am I to judge?” in the context of the LGBTQIA+ community to telling youth they are the hope ofthe future; from taking a stand against the culture of death: be it the death penalty and everywar to directly taking on the US arms and ammunition industry; from hitting out atclericalism in the Church to emphasizing that pastors must smell of the sheep; from wanting synodality to become the face of the Church of today to desiring that every Christian is a pilgrim of hope and mercy, Pope Francis has enabled and ennobled every single dimension of being an authentic disciple of Christ in today’s world. For this and more, we celebrate Pope Francis!
Recently, the prestigious ‘National Geographic’ portal released a fantastic 45 minutes documentary on Pope Francis; titled ‘Rebel Pope: Ten Years of Hope’, the video is breath-taking. It has for its statement ‘Pope Francis’ commitment to speak up on issues of poverty, migration, gender equality, and climate change, have made him a rebel with a noble cause.’ That says it all!
Therefore, we celebrate Pope Francis!
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*Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer
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