WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST
The image of Pope Francis taking a bus with other cardinals, archbishops and top Vatican officials earlier this month to go on a Lenten retreat has become a scene very familiar to Catholics.
It’s one of the most visible ways by which Pope Francis has marked his first year as pontiff — his simple ways demonstrate a desire to be with the Body of Christ, rather than a symbolic figure seemingly above the Church.
“People are attracted by his straightforwardness and also by his simplicity and his joy,” said Jesuit Father Douglas Marcouiller, provincial superior of the Missouri Province for the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). “He invites all kinds of people to encounter with the saving love of God. And he has a spirit of a missionary — he talks about being a missionary disciple who goes out into the streets to bring the Gospel. We, like so many others, have found him to be close (to people). He seems like someone who is close to them, and we feel that too.”
Pope Francis has captivated the attention of both Catholics and non-Catholics. A March 6 survey of Catholics by the Pew Research Center found that more than eight in 10 U.S. Catholics say they have a favorable view of the Church. Respondents also reported a greater enthusiasm for the faith, with an increase in prayer and reading the Bible and other spiritual texts. In December 2013, a CNN/ORC (Opinion Research Corporation) International poll found that 88 percent of American Catholics approve of how Pope Francis has been handling his role.
Father Marcouiller said that, in general, the Jesuits find Pope Francis’ ministry and approach to be “very inspiring.” But it has also “set a very high standard. He certainly calls us to go deeper into our own Jesuit identity and charism.” The priest said he continues to see the Jesuit influence when Pope Francis precedes his talks or writings with the expression that he is a “sinner.”
“That’s the primary experience of a Jesuit or anyone who makes the (Ignatian spirituality) exercises, and yet we’re loved by God, called into companionship by Jesus. We are encouraged by his example to move in the same direction. Francis moves out to talk with all kinds of people and to be touched by them.”
Mission of mercy
Several women religious have spoken about Pope Francis’ mission to reach people on the margins. Whether the poor, elderly, unborn or families in crisis, the Holy Father has made a point to connect with those who struggle and invite them in.
Sister Helen Negri, a Daughter of Charity who serves as executive director of Child Center-Marygrove, a residential treatment program for at-risk youths, called Pope Francis “a breath of fresh air. He walks the talk. He not only says we should do these things, but he does them.”
The youths that she encounters in her work have come from situations where there’s been child abuse or neglect, and their behaviors, as a result, can be challenging. But that doesn’t mean they should be cast aside and not shown care and support.
“When the pope talks about the poor, I translate that into the kids who call us and say, ‘I am 16, on the street and have a baby.’ It’s these children — if the pope were here, he’d say, ‘Yes those are the ones I am worried about. What are we doing to help them?’ I think his challenge would be can we stretch and do more?”
Sister Mary Ann McGivern spends much of her time working with a prisoner re-entry program and the Peace Economy Project, an effort that seeks to cut military spending and help fund human needs. The Sister of Loretto said that Pope Francis speaks from a very “practical knowledge.”
Sister Elaine AuBuchon, a School Sister of Notre Dame who serves as director of Educating Behind Bars, an effort to provide academic and behavioral-change programs to prisoners, said Pope Francis “serves as an inviting and challenging model for me and for those with whom I work.
“Prisoners, too, find inspiration in Francis’ commitment,” she said. “They know they are not forgotten; they see and feel the works of mercy in action. Though hidden behind bars or walls, they ‘catch’ his spirit, and they respond to his joyful approach.”
The Argentinean connection
Sister Clare Pratt remembers the moment she met Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. The Religious Sister of the Sacred Heart met him in 2002 during a routine province visit to Argentina as superior general of her community, based in Rome. Sister Clare once served on the team of the St. Louis-based United States Province from 1988-93.
“The custom was to meet with the local bishop, just as a courtesy visit,” said Sister Clare, who now works with elderly members of her community in Atherton, Calif. “What I remember is he answered the door himself and he had a letter I had just written to the Society of the Sacred Heart in his hand. I was touched that he had it.”
While he was cardinal, Pope Francis in 2004 introduced the cause for canonization for Sister Martha Pereyra Iraola, an Argentinean Religious of the Sacred Heart, who worked with the poor in the slums of Buenos Aires. Sister Clare said she’d like to think that her work “had an influence on how he is now.
“He had this openness to a woman religious and a great love and esteem for our community in Argentina. I don’t think our sisters in Argentina expected him to be elected. They’re certainly thrilled.”