“He had a style of closeness to everyone, of tenderness, using the language of tenderness and compassion for everyone, and, thus, touched everyone’s heart. With his style, he left us the image of the Church and left a message for humanity,” said António Marto, emeritus bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.
Pope Francis passed away today at the age of 88, after 12 years of a pontificate marked by the fight against sexual abuse, wars, and a pandemic.
Born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, Francis was the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis was hospitalized for 38 days due to bilateral pneumonia, having been discharged on March 23. His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday at the Vatican, on the eve of his death.
The cardinal recalled that Francis referred to the Church as a “field hospital,” always ready “to welcome, first and foremost, the wounded and to help heal the wounds.”
“Naturally, these are mostly moral, spiritual, psychological wounds that the world today is full of and so much needs this care,” he stated, highlighting that the Pope also left “this culture of caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable.”
For the cardinal, Francis was “for humanity, a Pope attentive and with a message always very particular, very adapted to emerging issues.”
In this regard, he mentioned, for instance, the environmental issue with the encyclical “Laudato Si” on the care of the common home, or the appeals for peace.
“To emerge from war and division among people and nations, he pointed to the path of universal fraternity and social friendship. It is beautiful because it is the spiritual foundation of social cohesion,” he noted.
Regarding the migratory flow, the cardinal recognized that Francis “indeed had the most poignant and urgent words for the defense of migrants who lost their lives at sea, who left their lands where they lived in misery, or in hunger, or in war, seeking a better quality of life, better living conditions.”
“He was indeed a Pope attentive to today’s problems and opened up perspectives of humanity,” said António Marto, asserting that the Pope, “even today, in a world so divided, so polarized, so fragmented, was the only voice that had moral authority and audience among all, even among different religious confessions.”
António Marto also admitted to having received the news of Pope Francis’ death “with a profound feeling of consternation and emotion.”
“We lost a father, a pastor loved by all the people of God and loved, I believe, by a large part, the great majority of today’s humanity,” he noted, emphasizing the “recognition and gratitude for all that he bequeathed.”
António Marto, who will participate in the Conclave to elect Francis’ successor, also recalled that the Pope, as he said in Fátima in 2017, left a Church with “open doors,” having, during the World Youth Day, defended “a Church where there is a place for everyone, everyone, everyone.”
“It will be an unforgettable expression, I believe, not only for the present generation but for the future as well,” he asserted.
Going back to 2017, during the centenary of the events of Fátima and the canonization of the shepherd children Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the then bishop of Leiria-Fátima recalled that “a very moving moment was in the farewell procession, in which he also had a handkerchief in his hand and waved,” with tears glistening in his eyes.
For more information:
