On March 16, the new Holy Father met with 5,000 journalists in the modern Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. He greeted them warmly, praised their profession, and called on them to communicate goodness, truth, and beauty. It was an important meeting, and he won them over with his charm, humor, and authenticity. He also shared why he choose his name,
“Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes [OFM]: a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous [indicating that it would be likely Bergoglio would be elected pope], he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: ‘Don’t forget the poor!’ And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi.
“Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man.…How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”
While at first glance it might seem odd for a Jesuit to choose St. Francis as his patron, in considering the life of both Pope Francis and St. Francis, the connection becomes quite clear. St. Francis was born ca. 1181 in Assisi, in the Umbria region in central Italy, to the family of a wealthy silk merchant. As a young man, he enjoyed parties and desired fame and glory. He went off to war but became seriously ill and received a vision in which Christ spoke to him from the crucifix telling him to rebuild his Church. This created a great change in Francis who took the words literally and began rebuilding the chapel in which he prayed that had fallen into ruin. During this time, he also grew closer to the Lord. His father became angry with Francis because Francis had abandoned his route of worldly success and gave away clothes from his father’s business to the poor. In turn, Francis gave back all he had to his father, even the clothes off his back.
A sermon on the Gospel further deepened the saint’s understanding of his calling and direction. In the Gospel passage, Jesus instructed his disciples who were sent forth to spread the Good News, “Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick” (Matthew 10:9-10). Francis also read this passage literally, which led him to full dependence on God as he went about preaching, choosing ‘Lady Poverty’ for himself, giving alms to the poor, and begging each day for all his necessities. Francis’ authenticity attracted followers to his way of life. Francis petitioned the Pope to grant his blessing to the new religious order, the Friars Minor (lesser brothers), and Pope Innocent III was moved by a dream he had of Francis and agreed.
Once, St. Francis came upon a leper who was begging. At first repulsed by the leper, Francis overcame his fear, embraced the leper, and gave him alms, realizing that love and acceptance is what he needed the most. Some of the stories of the saint and his many miracles reflect his closeness and concern for animals and other creatures as reflections of God and as brothers and sisters, creatures of the same God. Francis also was determined to take action regarding the bloody Crusades. He met with the Sultan to convert him and win peace, or otherwise face a likely martyrdom. Yet Francis’ authenticity won the respect of the Sultan, though he neither became a Christian nor ended the war.
In his later days, Francis, who had conformed his life so closely to that of Christ and whose miracles even echoed those of his Master, was given the grace of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion on his hands and feet. In 1226, St. Francis died, lying naked on the ground since he desired to leave the world in the same manner in which he had come, in utter poverty and dependence on God.
On October 4, 2013, Pope Francis visited the picturesque town of Assisi to celebrate the memorial of St. Francis with a Mass in the courtyard of the beautiful Basilica of St. Francis. There he explained Franciscan peace: “Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly! That is not the real Saint Francis!” While Franciscan peace is an antidote to violence and unjust war, its domain is within the heart and exudes outward. It is the peace that Francis had in risking his life to embrace the leper and to speak with the Sultan. Pope Francis continued, “Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos… That is not Franciscan either; it is a notion some people have invented!” We are not one with the world, but we are all creatures of the same God. The Pope continued to identify true Franciscan peace: “The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who ‘take up’ their ‘yoke’, namely, Christ’s commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” The love of Christ is a hard command - to love even when it hurts, even in the face of evil. The Holy Father then explained the link of Franciscan peace to humility: “This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.”
On August 21, 2013, the Syrian regime killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapons attack during its ongoing civil war. The photos of the dead soon flooded the Internet and shocked the world. The brutal regime had been at war for some time with rebels that were equally contemptuous of civil rights. By September, the U.S. and its allies were making preparations for an attack on Syria to assist the rebels. Pope Francis spoke out strongly for peace. The Holy Father tweeted on September 2, “War never again! Never again war!”
He called on all people of good will to join on September 7 for a day of prayer and fasting for peace and hosted a televised prayer vigil at the Vatican. In a series of continuous messages on peace, he tweeted on October 7, “The only war we all must fight is the war against evil.” Pope Francis strongly denounced the use of chemical weapons, and also denounced unnecessary intervention by outside parties that could make matters worse. He encouraged all parties to dialogue and to look beyond their own interests. Dialogue in Syria was indeed given a chance. As of October 7, both the U.S., the leading voice against the Syrian regime, and Russia, a strategic ally of Syria, expressed cautious optimism over the process of destroying the stockpile of chemical weapons and the regime had agreed. The civil war, however, rages on, and the international situation remains tenuous.