Portrait of Pope Francis: His life, message, legacy
I wish I had met Pope Francis. I wouldn't say that of other famous people but of the Pope it's true. He had a warm, genial, happy face. He smiled a lot and each time his eyes would light up. His laughter was heartfelt and genuine, his affection for children sincere. He liked being with people. He saw himself as one of them.
Much of this was obvious from the pictures I saw during his lifetime. It's what I discovered after his death that's really endeared him. Today I want to share with you the picture of Pope Francis that I've been able to research.
In the style of St Francis of Assisi, whose name he took as his own papal name, the Pope lived very modestly. He shunned the grand papal home in the Vatican and chose instead a small two-room apartment in a guest house. He wore battered brown shoes. He would frequently invite his guards to breakfast and often dine in the Vatican workers' canteen.
Before he became a priest, Francis was a bouncer in Buenos Aires. Perhaps that's why his approach to the priesthood was very different to the other priests. His central aim was to embrace the poor. He saw the Church and his faith through their eyes. Not surprisingly, they called him the Bishop of the Slums.
It probably also underlies one of the most amazing things he did which the world barely knew about. After the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023, it's reported that 'He would make nightly phone calls to the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, to offer prayers and words of encouragement to both Christians and Muslims sheltering within its walls.'
The fact so few knew of this is perhaps typical of Francis. He did it because he wanted to. Not because he was seeking credit or publicity. I'm more surprised the few who knew did not make a greater effort to ensure it was better known.
Francis was the first Pope to soften the Catholic Church's attitude to homosexuality. 'Who am I to judge?', he famously asked. He was also the first to believe that divorced or re-married Catholics could receive the sacrament. Even though four conservative Cardinals publicly opposed him, he did not waver.
Of course, the Pope was traditional and conservative on issues like contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage and transgender recognition. As I was told, he was a very liberal Catholic Pope but he was still a Catholic Pope. That wasn't said to limit praise but to illustrate his willingness to push the boundaries.
All of this points to one simple fact. Pope Francis cared about people. The position he took on the issue of immigrants and refugees proves this. His first formal visit as Pope was to the island of Lampedusa to meet illegal migrants from North Africa. Weeks before he fell ill, he criticised President Trump's policies linking illegal immigrants with criminality. I can't think of any other head of State who went so far.
The late Pope was also the first to formally enter into a dialogue with Islam. He held an open-air mass in the United Arab Emirates, the first ever on the Arabian peninsula. This act of inter-religious fraternity was attacked by conservatives. He simply ignored their position.
There are aspects of the Pope's life where, arguably, he failed. He was not particularly adept at handling allegations of corruption in the Vatican, even when they concerned the Secretariat of State. Cardinal Angelo Becciu may have been imprisoned in 2023, but the wider problem was not really tackled. But then none of his predecessors was any better.
However, Francis may have ensured the Catholic Church will continue as he left it. Of the 135 Cardinals eligible to vote for his successor, 108 were appointed by him. Of them, 53 are European but 82 are from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America and Oceania. So, will his successor be another non-European? The odds suggest he could be.
Karan Thapar is the author of Devil's Advocate: The Untold Story. The views expressed are personal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Hundreds attend annual feast of St Anthony's Church in Belagavi
Belagavi: The annual feast of St Anthony's Church at Camp, Belagavi, was celebrated with great devotion and fervour on Friday evening, drawing scores of devotees from the city and neighbouring areas. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by the Bishop of Belgaum, Rev Dr Derek Fernandes, who led the faithful in solemn prayer and reflection. In his homily, Bishop Fernandes delved into the spiritual legacy of St Anthony. "The feast of St Anthony of Padua remains a powerful symbol of faith, humility, and service in the Church today. He is widely known as the saint of miracles and continues to inspire millions through his intercessory power," he said. Parish priest Rev Fr Vijay Mendith shared that the number of devotees visiting the church was steadily increasing, with people from all faiths visiting especially on Tuesdays to seek blessings. Many priests, nuns, and devotees were present in large numbers. Later, the statue of St Francis was taken around the campus in the procession. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
India.com
16 hours ago
- India.com
Not Pakistan, Malaysia, UAE, THIS MUSLIM majority country has largest HINDU populations
New Delhi: The global Muslim population is growing rapidly, while the number of Christians has also seen a steady increase over the years. It is important to note that after Christians, Muslims, and atheists, Hinduism is the fourth largest religious group in the world. India alone is home to 95% of the global Hindu population. Hindus form the largest religious group in India, Nepal, and Mauritius. However, one surprising fact is that there are five Muslim-majority countries in the world where a significant number of Hindus live. In this article, we will talk about the countries where most the number of Muslims live. Here are some of the important details: Between 2010 and 2020, the number of Hindus in the world increased by 12 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. This figure rose from approximately 1.1 billion to around 1.2 billion. Since the non-Hindu population also grew at nearly the same rate, the Hindu share of the global population remained stable. The vast majority of Hindus (99%) lived in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. The remaining Hindus mostly resided in North America or the Middle East–North Africa region. In both of these regions, Hindus made up 0.3% of the population. In South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, there was a slight decline in the share of the Hindu population. However, none of these changes reached the 5 percentage point mark. These 5 Muslim-majority countries have the highest Hindu population: Bangladesh: 13,140,000 13,140,000 Pakistan: 50,30,000 Indonesia: 43,50.000 Malaysia: 20, 70,000 UAE: 11, 10,000 Notably, there was no major change (at least 5 percentage points) in the share of the Hindu population in any country or region. Some minor changes occurred due to migration. For example, there was an outmigration of people of Indian origin from Fiji, while the number of Hindu migrants increased in Oman. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of Hindus grew the fastest in the Middle East–North Africa region. The Hindu population there reached 3.2 million, marking a 62% increase. In North America, the Hindu population rose to 3.6 million, reflecting a 55% increase in their total population.
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
Islam Fastest-Growing In World, Christianity 2nd, 'Nones' 3rd Largest: Pew Report
New Delhi: Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, with the Muslim population growing by 347 million in ten years between 2010 and 2020, a report by the Pew Research Center said. According to the report, Christianity stood second, followed by 'nones' (people with no religious affiliation). Hindus stood fourth in the world population. The Pew's 'Global Religious Landscape' report, published on June 9, reveals how population growth has influenced the global religious landscape. It mainly focuses on seven categories: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, people who belong to other religions, and those who are religiously unaffiliated. The report mentioned that the rise in the number of Muslims is more than all other religions combined, and the shares of the Muslim population globally rose by 1.8 percentage points to 25.6 per cent. Islam is followed by Christianity - even though it is the world's biggest religious group. The number of Christians rose by 122 million, reaching 2.3 billion. However, as a share of the world's population, they fell 1.8 percentage points to 28.8 per cent - placing second to Islam, the report said. This is primarily due to the growth among the non-Christian population and those who left the religion. Most former Christians no longer identify with any religion, but some now identify with a different religion, the survey mentioned. The decline in Christianity was witnessed in Europe, North America, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand, it added. 'Nones' took the place of the third-largest growing group, with the number of religiously unaffiliated people rising by 270 million to 1.9 billion. The share of 'nones' in the world population climbed nearly a full percentage point to 24.2 per cent. Hindus, according to the report, grew at about the same rate as the world's overall population. The religion stood fourth in the fastest-growing list. The report said that the number of Hindus rose by 126 million, reaching 1.2 billion. As a proportion of the global population, Hindus held steady at 14.9 per cent - a slight drop as compared to 2010 (15 per cent). The Jewish population grew by around six per cent in the 10 years - from 14 million to 15 million people, the report said. As of 2020, 45.9 per cent of Jews lived in Israel - the highest Jewish population in any country. This was followed by 41.2 per cent in North America. According to the report, Buddhist were the only major religious group that had fewer people in 2020 than a decade earlier. The number of Buddhists in the world dropped by 0.8 per cent. The age profile The study mentions that in 2020, Muslims had the highest proportion of children in their population (33 per cent of all Muslims worldwide are under 15). The youthfulness of Muslims is tied to the fact that nearly four-in-ten of the world's Muslims live in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region - places with relatively young populations, it said. Jews and Buddhists have the highest proportion of older adults - 36 per cent in each group are ages 50 and older. Christians have a large presence in many regions, from the most youthful in sub-Saharan Africa to the least in Europe. Hindus, on the other hand, have a larger population between the ages of 15 to 49 (55 per cent), followed by youngsters of 33 per cent.
