In Memoriam – A Compassionate Leader with the Face of the Merciful Father
Looking back upon the many personal audiences he has had with the Pope, Manoj Sunny fondly remembers Pope Francis.
Shortly after Pope Francis became the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, he announced a gathering of Ecclesial Movements at the Vatican to be held on Pentecost. On 26 May 2013, during this gathering, I had the privilege of meeting the new Pope for the first time, just two months into his papacy. Having previously met St Pope John Paul II and the late Pope Benedict XVI, I found this experience quite different. When I first met with St John Paul II, I couldn’t control my tears because I was aware that I stood on holy ground in the presence of a holy person. I met Pope Benedict at the end of the Synod on Evangelisation. After a month of listening to him, I knew I was in the presence of an authentic Catholic teacher – a seat of wisdom and knowledge.
I have had five personal audiences with Pope Francis, each time encountering the same radiating smile and joy that instilled hope and courage, uplifting my entire being. He made me feel valued, cherished, and loved. During my first audience, when I addressed him as ‘Holy Father,’ he responded with a broad smile, calling me ‘holy son.’ Unlike my previous audiences, he was reluctant to allow me to bow down and kiss his ring. Instead, he held my hands firmly and talked with me, looking into my eyes. Whenever we met, I gave him our Kairos magazine, International Newsletter, etc. He listened attentively as I introduced our movement and explained recent international initiatives. He strongly encouraged our work and supported our movement. I requested his blessing for our movement, which he always granted wholeheartedly. Several bishops have commented after meeting Pope Francis, ‘The Pope knows the Jesus Youth Movement and has a deep appreciation for it.’
I will never forget that gathering at the Rome Olympic Stadium on 1st June 2014, with the Italian Charismatic Renewal and global leaders. After his address to over 40,000 people, Pope Francis knelt on the bare stage, bowed his head, and asked the people to pray for him – a gesture he repeated from his first address as Pope. Seeing the congregation extend their hands towards the Pope and pray for him was overwhelming. Again, on 3rd June 2017, during the vigil at Circo Massimo celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Charismatic Renewal, Pope Francis bowed his head, asking his friend Giovanni Traettino, a Pentecostal pastor, to pray for him along with the thousands gathered there. Pastor Giovanni, whom Pope Francis visited at his Pentecostal Church in 2014, led a beautiful prayer for the Holy Father. I still remember Pope Francis singing ‘How Great Thou Art,’ standing and raising his hands in praise, singing aloud with other Charismatic leaders. One of Pope Francis’ remarkable qualities was his ‘ordinariness’ – from his residence to his car to his interactions – he didn’t present himself as an authoritative leader but as an ordinary person, just like any of us, chosen by God to lead the Church while acknowledging his limitations and vulnerabilities. This ‘ordinariness’ was the trademark of his leadership. He referred to himself as a ‘sinner’ but a ‘redeemed sinner.’ I believe this is why he took the motto, Miserando atque eligendo, or ‘Because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him.’
Pope Francis was the one who gave the most audiences to Ecclesial Movements, initiating efforts to bring the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to the entire Church and Life in the Spirit to everyone everywhere. With the launch of CHARIS in 2019, he integrated the Catholic Charismatic Renewal into the Church’s hierarchical structure.
In February 2016, Pope Francis was scheduled to address us at the end of one of the conferences with over 150 delegates in the Vatican. The previous night, we heard that the Pope had a fever and might not speak to us, and even if he did, he might not meet everyone at the conference. However, he joined us on time, appearing tired but determined, and insisted on meeting each person, not just a few bishops and leaders. I was also fortunate enough to meet him personally. In his presence, we were all treated equally, as he showed each of us the same dignity and honour, just as Father God treats us all.
Pope Francis embodied the Merciful Face of the Father. His belief that ‘God hates sin but loves the sinner’ opened the doors of the Church to everyone. His non-judgmental stance towards the LGBTQ community and the blessing of people in same-sex marriages (not as a sacrament, but as a blessing for both individuals) reflects his deep conviction about the dignity of every human being created in the image and likeness of God. He believed there is always a place in the Father’s heart that welcomes those seeking to return, and the Church’s doors should remain open to all who want to reconnect. He said, ‘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 clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.’ (Evangelii Gaudium 49) His vision of the Church as a ‘Field Hospital after battle’ underscores this. He ignited this process by announcing 2016 as the ‘Year of Mercy’. He said, ‘So many people need their wounds healed! This is the mission of the Church: to heal the wounds of the heart, to open doors, to free people, to say that God is good, God forgives all, God is the Father, God is affectionate, God always waits for us.’ He chose love over doctrine, compassion over judgment, and most remarkably, action over applause. Time magazine published an article on 21st April titled ‘Pope Francis’ Greatest Achievement was Emphasising Mercy.’ On the same day, Whoopi Goldberg wrote on Instagram that he was ‘the closest in a long time that seemed to remember that Christ’s love enveloped believer and non-believer.’ His writings and stance on mercy, human dignity, migrants, a Church that is poor and for the poor, reaching out to the peripheries, climate change, protecting our Mother Earth, etc., were embraced and followed by everyone, not just Christians. A true compassionate leader who reflected the face of a merciful Father!
Pope Francis clearly envisioned the Church’s primary mission – evangelisation. In his first Apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, he shares his ‘dream of a “missionary option,” that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation’ (EG 27). He calls each one of us ‘to be always “on the journey,” to not stand still, and to always carry in our hearts the idea that there is “always more” to do in order to be true disciples and missionaries of Christ; be men and women who are not afraid to take risks, get our hands dirty, make mistakes, and know how to move forward.’ (Plenary Assembly of PCL, 18 June 2016). What a powerful challenge this man of God sets before us in Jesus Youth, a ‘missionary movement at the service of the Church’!
Our beloved Pope Francis, we will miss you, but we are glad you are in your Father’s house. We witnessed your bodily suffering in the last days and your unwavering courage to continue your mission. We saw how difficult it was for you on this Easter Sunday, even to raise your hands to bless us. But you continued the mission entrusted to you until the last breath of your life. On April 21st, on that ‘Master’s morning,’ when you met your Master face to face, you would have proudly said, like St Paul, ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ Today, we too run the race, not knowing when the Master may come. Please pray for us, that in following your footsteps, we may say the same words when we meet our Master face to face. Amen.
