I feel deep sorrow in writing these few lines in memory of Pope Francis, An intensely powerful emotion that one feels when a beloved friend, whom you have always cared for deeply, is lost.
The Pope who came from the end of the world, and who lived this world firsthand with the least among us, has bid us farewell. He did so discreetly, without long waits and without too much clamor. A death that occurred the day after Easter, the day after once again seeing and embracing his people.
I too was there that March night in 2013, among the crowd of people in St. Peter's Square, all excited at the sight of the white smoke and all enthusiastic about the first Latin Pope in the history of the Church, upon whom hopes for the reform of a Church adrift were immediately placed.
Already in the choice of his name, the path he would take and with what weapons he would face it was visible, Francis, like the patron saint of Italy, the poor saint from Assisi, and he honored that name to the end.
His last visit was to the Regina Coeli prison on his last Holy Thursday, where about seventy inmates of different languages and colors awaited him. "This year I liked coming to prison to do as Jesus did, it is not possible for me to perform the washing of feet, but I can and want to be close to you. I pray for you and for your families," he told the inmates. He never shied away from the pain of those living in extreme and brutal conditions.
Pope Francis's first official visit was to Lampedusa, the southernmost border of Italy, in July 2013, where desperate men arrive on makeshift boats, when they do not perish in the crossing, only to realize that they are not welcome here.
In his first and last outing as Pope lies the entire meaning of his pontificate: always standing on the side of the least, not only with words but also and especially with example.
He was loved by many, by believers, by laypeople, as well as by atheists, who saw in him, first and foremost, the depth of the man, fascinated by his rectitude, his humility, and his courage. In a world dominated by opportunism, arrogance, and bullying, he left us a clear message: never be afraid to raise your voice against abuses and injustices. He loved to repeat that there is only one moment in life when it is permissible to look down on others, when you help them to get up.
At Pope Francis's funeral were present powerful figures and heads of state. But I like to think that, ideally, migrants, the poor, the homeless, inmates, the least of the earth whom no one ever deems worthy of attention, whom he instead always cared for, were there from around the world to bid Pope Francis farewell.
Buon viaggio Francesco
