Saint Francis; Pope Francis
I fell in love with Saint Francis in second grade. I had a Franciscan sister, Sister Judith,
as my teacher that year, and she instilled in me such a devotion that I dressed up as
Saint Francis frequently – for his feast day, for Halloween and even sometimes for a trip
to the grocery store.
I like to think my devotion to Saint Francis has matured as I have gotten older. I no
longer dress like him, though I do frequently wear brown (it’s my favorite color and the
color of his habit!). Most of all, I have tried to emulate his humility and poverty,
“dressing up” my interior life with Franciscan spirituality. In this way, I feel like I have a
connection with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who shares a similar spirituality and
devotion to Saint Francis.
It’s obvious the love the Pope has for Saint Francis. He took the name of the saint, and
he visited Saint Francis’ hometown of Assisi. Pope Francis has even picked up the
issue of ecology as a major issue within his papacy; Saint Francis is the patron of
ecology. These are all obvious, exterior signs of Pope Francis’ special love for this saint.
Inasmuch as these signs are exterior, they are like how I used to dress up in a little
brown robe and bald cap.
But there is a larger reason for why I love Pope Francis so much. It is the interior life of
the Pope which so closely resembles the life of my favorite saint. It is Pope Francis’
humility which brings him to embrace the ill and the imprisoned which I most admire. It
is his simplicity in life, which, though not unique to his papacy alone, is such a beacon to
a world enthralled with consumption. It is his loving treatment and welcoming of the poor
which causes me to desire to serve more wholly and more holy.
There are many wonderful things about Pope Francis, just as there are many wonderful
things about his predecessors. But I am most thankful to God for His gift of this pope
who consistently and passionately shows how I can better live as Saint Francis did, and
thus better live as Christ did.
Evan Holguin is a sophomore majoring in the Program of Liberal Studies.