POPE FRANCIS – THE COMPASSIONATE SHEPHERD
The wolf of Gubbio was feared and deplored by everyone in the Italian province of Perugia. The terrifying wolf attacked everyone who came its way until one day the ferocious beast encountered St Francis of Assisi. The saint addressed the beast, ‘Brother Wolf!’ Francis was the first ever man to look tenderly into the eyes of the beast. The brotherly gaze of the saint transformed the wild animal. The legend says that the wolf never harmed anyone again…
Eight centuries later, for the first time in history, a pope ascended the Chair of St Peter, taking the name Francis, after the legendary eco saint. The choice of the name itself was a declaration – an assertion that mercy, tenderness, profound humanity, and universal fraternity were about to rule. As Pope Francis himself said once, elucidating his stance, “The Church is a forgiving mother, who welcomes all people with an attitude of understanding, clemency, and forgiveness.”
When white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on 13th March 2013, hardly anyone expected the new pope to be a non-European. Thwarting all speculations and presumptions, the name was announced: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina!
Elected as the 266th pope, Francis was the first non-European pope in over 1,300 years after Gregory III from Syria. He was also the first Latin American pontiff and the first Jesuit to be elected as a pope.
It was just the beginning of many surprises God had in store for the world through the unconventional pope. To the astonishment of all, from the open window of St Peter’s Basilica, the new Pope bowed to the people and sought their blessings and prayers as a sign of profound humility.
A fortnight after his election, in a homily during the Chrism Mass offered for French student priests of the Church of St. Louis, Pope Francis mentioned the iconic analogy, “shepherds with the smell of the sheep,” which would later become the trademark of his papacy.
It was an indirect announcement of the track he was going to choose during his epoch-making papacy. The world soon witnessed the papacy being made much more human, more accessible, and less remote.
In one of the major interviews given to the Italian Jesuit priest and journalist, Fr Antonio Spadaro, when asked about speaking to a large crowd like that of the World Youth Day, Pope Francis said, “I manage to look at individual persons, one at a time, to enter into personal contact with whomever I have in front of me. I’m not used to the masses.”
Later, Fr Spadaro commented on this remark: “Whenever he is among a crowd of people Pope Francis’ eyes actually rest on individual persons.”
This statement sums up the motive behind the decisions and actions of Pope Francis. He looked at individual persons. He encountered souls. When one looks at an individual person, one can see the depth of the soul, who needs divine and human compassion, understanding, and acceptance. Here is the clue to his unparalleled compassion towards the outcasts and people on the peripheries like the migrants, the LGBTQ people, the homeless, the war-affected, and everyone who is less fortunate.
Once, during a 2013 conference, he responded to a question about homosexuality by saying, “Who am I to judge?” When asked about his phrase later, the Pope clarified that his comments simply meant everyone was deserving of God’s love and mercy.
During his 2017 visit to Canada, in a TED Talk delivered in Vancouver, Pope Francis used the term ‘Revolution of tenderness.’ “Tenderness is not weakness; it is fortitude. It is the path of solidarity, the path of humility” he said. He projected “tenderness” as a core Christian virtue, emphasizing its importance in fostering compassion, humility, and a more just and loving world, where the less fortunate and marginalized people are accepted and included.
The vision of tenderness is also reflected in his vision of the Church. He once defined, “Church to be seen as a field hospital, not a fortress.” He envisioned a Church that is synodal, inclusive and focused on service to the world, a place for everyone, including those who are marginalized or on the fringes of society. Pope Francis urged the Church to go out of parochial confines and embrace its global diversity, responding to the call of his divine Master: “Go to the ends of the earth.” His famous dictum ‘Go out into the streets’ resounded his vision of a compassionate church that reaches out.
Ferreting out the foundation of his profound concern and compassion for migrants, we encounter his ancestry, who migrated from Italy to Argentina during the fascist regime of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Young Bergoglio had heard the sad plight of migrants from his parents and grandparents. Pope Francis himself had later revealed how his grandparents and his father narrowly escaped a deadly shipwreck, which he believed was providential.
He strongly advocated for migrants because he saw in them the Church’s own pilgrimage throughout history. Often, he identified the hapless odyssey of migrants with the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt. “An encounter with a migrant is an encounter with Christ” he once said.
In the Gospels, we see that self-righteous people were the ones whom Jesus slammed the most. Everyone who acknowledged their sins with humility received the compassion of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In his teachings, Pope Francis repeatedly called faithful to be humble and contrite of heart. He often defined himself as a sinner.
He once said, “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner. This reminds us of the first pope Saint Peter, who declared at the sight of Jesus, “Lord, I am a sinner!”
In one of his earlier interviews, the Pope revealed that he still goes to confession every two weeks. “The mere fact that I now dress all in white has not made me any less sinful or holier than before,” he told Jesuits during his Mozambique visit.
Like a true successor of St Peter, who wept bitterly after realizing his fault in denying his divine Master, Pope Francis never hesitated to say sorry when he felt he had been wrong. On January 22, 2018, while flying back to Rome after visiting Chile and Peru, he begged forgiveness from a victim of clerical sexual abuse. He said: “Juan Carlos, the first thing I want to do is apologize for what happened to you and apologize in the name of the Pope, and in the name of the universal church.”
Pope Francis closely followed Jesus, who traversed to the peripheries, saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”. He surprised everyone when he unconventionally washed the feet of young prisoners, including two women and two Muslims on Holy Thursday in 2013. He continued to kneel before prisoners and people of lower status, on every Holy Thursday that followed, setting an example of profound humility.
Like his saint whose name he bore, Pope Francis always had a preferential love for the poor. Calling the Church to renew its focus on the poor, he stated that loving the poor is not a task of a few but the mission of the entire Church. One World Day of the Poor, every year, he made himself available to dine with the poor people of Rome at the Vatican.
“If we want to help change history and promote real development, we need to hear the cry of the poor and commit ourselves to ending their marginalization,” he said in his message on World Day of the Poor in 2017. In his speeches, he lashed out against escalating economic inequality and called for a more just distribution of wealth and a renewed focus on the poor.
Pope Francis, who believed that the Church is essentially a welcoming house of the Father, was a great champion and advocate of ecumenism. His ecumenic vision was based on what he defined as the ‘ecumenism of blood’. “The blood of martyrs unites Christians,” he said. Emphasizing the importance of dialogue, encounter, and synodality, he stated that Christian unity is a vital part of sharing the Gospel with the world.
The interreligious stance of Pope Francis was equally significant. Believing that interreligious dialogue is a vital way to promote peace, respect, and harmony, he called for tolerance and acceptance of diversity. His epoch-making passage through the Tunnel of Friendship in Jakarta connecting the Istiqlal Mosque to the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral was an iconic example of his sincere attempts to maintain peace and harmony among religions in a world that is torn by strife based on religious differences. He had several heartwarming meetings with the leaders of the world religions in and out of the Vatican. During his visit to Indonesia in 2024, Pope Francis met with representatives of Indonesia’s six officially recognized religions, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and signed a document called “Human Fraternity” to promote interfaith harmony.
A champion of global peace and human brotherhood, Pope Francis always maintained an anti-war stance. He was often seen reiterating his trademark statement, “War is always, always, always a defeat,” arguing that no one benefits from it, and everyone loses. He defined war as a “crime against humanity”. He was often seen pleading for peace and ceasefire in war-torn regions such as Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. He repeatedly called for humanitarian aid in war-torn areas and prayed for humanitarians who risked their lives.
One of the remarkable revolutions brought about by Pope Francis in the administrative realms of the Vatican was redefining women’s role in the Church. He always emphasized the importance of women’s participation in the Church and has called for greater recognition of their talents and gifts.
To solidify his stance, he once made a radical statement: “The Church is woman!” He went on to elucidate further, “I see women blessed with charisms, and I do not want to limit the discussion of women’s role in the Church to the topic of ministry.”
A man of his word, he appointed more women to key positions in the Vatican including Sr. Simona Brambilla whom he appointed as Vatican’s first female prefect, and Sister Raffaella Petrini whom he named as the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.
In September 2024, despite being confined to a wheelchair, Pope Francis ventured on the longest apostolic journey during his papacy abroad to Southeast Asia and Oceania, which included Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines. The historic apostolic journey was founded on the core values he often highlighted: faith, fraternity, and compassion. Hundreds of thousands of people thronged wherever he went. He met with the leaders of the nations as well as religious leaders, discussing hot topics like global challenges, peace, and harmony between religions.
During his papacy, Pope Francis wrote four encyclicals, which include the groundbreaking encyclical on earth and environment, ‘Laudate Si.’ His first encyclical ‘Lumen Fidei’ was published in the same year of his ascension to the papal throne. In Lumen Fidei, the Pope highlighted the celebration of the Christian faith as the guiding light of a ‘successful and fruitful life’.
His second and most discussed encyclical ‘Laudate Si’ was released in 2015, highlighting the ecological crisis and calling for the protection and preservation of the earth, our common home. The name itself was derived from the Canticle of his favorite saint Francis of Assisi, the lover of nature, the encyclical echoed the eco saint’s vision for maintaining peace with the environment.
The third encyclical, ‘Fratelli Tutti, released in 2020, highlighted fraternity and social friendship. It was a heartfelt call to universal brotherhood as members of the human family.
After discussing faith, earth, and fraternity, Pope Francis chose love as the theme of his fourth encyclical, ‘Delexit Nox’ which means ‘He loved us’. This encyclical was focused on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.
Finally, giving a glance at his recently launched autobiography, ‘Hope’, one would not fail to notice its candid splendor. His status as pope did not hinder him from accepting his weaknesses and shame as he puts it.
Standing high on the aura of the Supreme Pontiff does not hold him back from admitting that “Melancholy has always been a companion in my life.” Such a frankness and humility that stunned the world! As if in a confessional, he admits his mistakes of ignoring a housemaid who had cared for his family when he was younger.
Reading through these lines, we understand why the remorseful Peter was preferred by the Lord over his other disciples. Saying sorry to the Lord is the greatest gift one can have. Weeping for one’s shortcomings will move the Lord’s compassionate heart, who will extend his heart to embrace as he did to Peter, the first pope.
To sum up the great, legendary, and in a way revolutionary life of Pope Francis, our eyes fall upon the word ‘compassion.’ All his actions were guided and moved by compassion. His call to reach out to the peripheries and embrace the poor, the outcasts, and the miserable stemmed from this boundless compassion. As we look at the compassionate face of Pope Francis, urging us to accept the most miserable and hated of people, we hear the words of our Lord, “I came to call sinners…”
He was a true shepherd, who went out of his comfort zones in search of the lost sheep. He wanted to gather everyone, even the most hated, into the bosom of the merciful Father. His legacy will remain as a unique period of tenderness, compassion, and inclusiveness. Wherever there are wars and conflicts, his voice will echo, calling for peace and brotherhood. Wherever there is discrimination, his voice will resound with a heartfelt invitation of acceptance and fraternity.
Thank you, dear Papa! You have left us an undying legacy. You have made the world a better place to live with your heartfelt call to return to tenderness. You made outcasts feel accepted and loved. You taught us to value our common home, the earth. Thank you, Good Shepherd!
Abhilash Fraizer
About the Author
Abhilash Fraizer is an Indian author, poet, novelist, journalist, translator and advertising copy writer hailing from Kerala. A Post Graduate in English Language and Literature, Abhilash has authored 14 books and has written numerous poems, stories and articles for various international and Indian journals. His latest work is ‘Father, a collection of poems’, published globally by Wipf & Stock Publishers, Oregon, USA. His other renowned works in English include ‘The End of Wars’, a novel and ‘Everlasting Things are Incomplete’, a collection of poems. Dalamarmaram (The Rustle of Leaves), Paravakalude Vazhi (The Way of Birds), Raamazhayude Theerathu (On the banks of Night Rain), Sajalam (Aqueous) and Prapancha gaatha (The Ballad of the Universe) are some of his noted works in Malayalam, the official language of Kerala.
‘Prapancha gaadha’ won Kreatiff Silver Award for the second-best Novel in 2020. A recipient of multiple accolades, Abhilash has been awarded with KCBC (Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council) Media Commission’s ‘Yuva Prathibha Award’ in 2014. His poem ‘Between the Islands’ was voted and enlisted among the best 100 poems in a global contest held by Poemhunter.com. A screen writer as well, Abhilash has written scripts for noted Sight and Sound Shows including ‘I Believe’ and ‘Ammamaram’, staged in a major venue in Kochi and were watched by over 50,000 people. He has also written scripts for various television programs and lyrics for about 50 songs, which have been recorded for various albums. He lives in Ernakulam, Kerala with his wife Sunitha and two sons Ezek and Izan.
