Vale Pope Francis, the man who brought us hope

The death of Pope Francis early on Easter Monday left those of us who value freedom, peace, courage and universal love very saddened.

In his autobiography, Hope, released only this year, he shares his remarkable life story. Written over six years and originally intended to appear after his death, it tells of his early childhood in Argentina, warts and all.

In the introduction to his autobiography, Pope Francis says:

‘We Christians must know that hope doesn’t deceive and doesn’t disappoint. All is born to blossom in an eternal springtime.’

In the National Geographic book, Pope Francis and the New Vatican, by photographer Dave Yoder and essayist Robert Drayer, one of the outstanding comments was:

‘Rare is the leader who makes us want to be better people.’

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Pope Francis was such a leader, and reminded us all:

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.”

This humble man, who came from Argentina and chose to become a Jesuit, said:

“From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it doesn’t dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us.”

Fellow past South American Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in Northern Brazil, Dom Hélder Câmara, once released a book, Hoping Against All Hope, where he, too, spoke of A Spark of Hope in this way:

If only we would stop dividing ourselves. If only humanity would stop producing and stockpiling the arms that someday will probably obliterate human life. If only we could see that in place of all this fear and anxiety, in the most difficult of dark hours, in the darkest night, a star shines.

If only we as brothers and sisters in greatness and misery could find again a spark of hope.

As the Leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis became the shepherd who transformed our relationships with each other and all of creation in a similar way to the way St Francis of Assisi did. Pope Francis guided the Church for 12 years, breathing new life into centuries of Catholic practice and teaching. His warmth, humility and commitment to the poor showed a new way forward.

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The Pope said:

“Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.”

In his Call to Mercy and Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees, published in his book, A Stranger and You Welcomed Me, Francis wrote:

‘We must move from considering others as threats to our comfort to valuing them as persons whose life experiences and values can contribute greatly to the enrichment of our society. For this to happen, our basic approach must be to encounter the others, to welcome, to know and acknowledge him or her.’

As a champion of family values and human rights, Francis set up a worldwide climate change movement — Laudato Si. He stood up for the children and other victims of human trafficking, those displaced by conflicts, natural disasters and people suffering persecution in many countries. All these people hope that one day all nations will have the courage to “tear down the wall of comfortable and silent complicity”, to give more support to the poor and those struggling, to show them greater concern, compassion and devotion.

This great disciple of hope taught us:

“The ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, walk the dark night with them, to know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or Government officials.”

Pope Francis was a pastor to all people.

In a recent book, Let Us Dream — the Path to a Better Future, Pope Francis quotes a poem by a comedian and poet, Alexis Valdes.

Quoting from three of the verses on ‘Hope’, Valdes says:

We’ll miss the old man who asked for a buck in the market,

Whose name we never knew, who was always at your side.

And maybe the poor old man was your God in disguise.

But you never asked his name, because you never had the time.

When the storm passes, I ask the Lord, in shame

That you return us better, as you once dreamed us.

Vale Pope Francis, the good man who brought us hope.