Pope Francis was a role model for all Christians
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #17
April 28, 2025
Pope Francis was a role model for all Christians
I watched the funeral for Pope Francis on Saturday morning. No, I did not get up early to watch it overnight. Preserving my sleep, I saw the repeats on You Tube. Most of what I heard about him during the funeral, I had already heard in the past, but I did learn a few new things about him from those who eulogized him. I think that he stood as a good role model for Christians everywhere and I hope that we all learn from him.
He Prayed a Great Deal
I wish that we were all as prayerful as Pope Francis. The pope had a reputation for being prayerful, even more so than other Cardinals and previous popes. One of his favorite places to pray was the basilica of St Mary Major. This is the place that he chose to be buried following his death.
I wish that we were all as prayerful as Francis. In his eulogy, and other sources that I have read, reported that he spent a lot of time in prayer. This, I read, was especially true during the COVID pandemic. Do we take prayer seriously? Do we do it daily? Do we teach our children to pray and show them by example?
During my forty years as a minister of word and sacrament, I have bristled when I have heard elders and deacons claim that they have “no time to pray.” How in the world can we be representatives of Jesus if we do not take time to engage with God in prayer? Let us learn from Pope Francis.
Humility
Many of us, from reading stories as children, about princes, princesses, and castles have dreamed of living in palaces. I love large houses and have been blessed with having lived in beautiful parsonages for over forty years.
Pope Francis was shown the papal palace shortly after being elected pope. He reported in an interview that he heard the word, “no” when he walked in. Instead, he chose to live in a small apartment in the Vatican apartments and eat meals communally with others who reside there instead of living alone and being waited on by the palace staff. Would we be humble enough to make such choices?
Imitating Jesus in Real Life
Pope Francis lived what Jesus said. He didn’t simply “symbolically” imitate Jesus. One example that I have heard involves the “washing of the feet” each Holy Thursday. Many Christian Churches do this as part of worship on this day. I have participated in such services. Of course, the people whose feet I washed were middle class church attenders who regularly bathed. Likewise, the Pope traditionally washed the feet of several cardinals on Holy Thursday who were likewise clean.
Pope Francis was different. He took Jesus’ example of feet washing seriously, not symbolically. He visited prisons and homeless shelters to wash the feet of the residents there. For him, imitating Jesus was a reality. Would we do such humble work voluntarily?
Let us imitate Pope Francis in our religious walks. Our works will benefit the world and we will honor God in our lives.
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