Bishop Vladimir Fekete: WE HAVE LOST A SHEPHERD WITH THE HEART OF JESUS – in the memory of Pope Francis

Twelve years ago, a conclave of cardinals elected the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, as the head of the Catholic Church. He took the name Francis, and from the very beginning of his pontificate, he surprised both the faithful and the unbelievers. Pope Francis avoided any kind of ostentation. After his election to the papal throne, he refused to move into the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace and lived throughout his pontificate in a simple room in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican’s guest house.

Pope Francis was paying special attention to the problems of the homeless, migrants and those who were marginalized in society. The late Pontiff carried out a number of projects to give these most vulnerable categories of society a new sense of their human dignity. He had a heart that was empathetic, sensitive and understanding.

Just as Saint Francis of Assisi once realized his calling to reform the medieval Church, so Pope Francis saw his election as an opportunity to help the Church, especially the Roman Curia, to relieve itself of the burden of certain forms and structures that he considered relics of the past.

His sincere humanity, the spontaneity with which he showed it, and his efforts in the direction of ecumenism and peace, earned him the admiration and respect of many people outside the Catholic Church. He was unwaveringly faithful to Catholic doctrine, but at the same time he was very sympathetic to the problematic situations in which people find themselves in the modern world. In search of a way out of them, he was prepared to take risky paths. Perhaps this is why he was not conservative enough for conservative circles, and not liberal enough for liberal ones.

With his death, the Church lost a good shepherd with the heart of Jesus, the poor lost a caring spiritual father, and the world, engulfed in wars and unrest, lost a voice tirelessly calling for reconciliation and mutual forgiveness.

The Catholic Church of Azerbaijan remembers with deep gratitude the apostolic visit of Pope Francis to our country in 2016. We cherish the memory that the late Pontiff ordained the first local priest and appointed a bishop for our local Church.

O, Merciful God, grant the late Pope Francis an eternal reward for all his deeds and receive him into Your Kingdom. May he, now in the heavenly mansions, in the host of saints, accompany our earthly pilgrimage with his paternal prayers. Amen.

+ Vladimir Fekete, 

Titular Bishop of Municipe, 

Apostolic prefect of Azerbaijan