By Deacon Gregory M. Kirk
St. Joseph Church, Galion

As the sun rose on the town of Assisi, Italy on the morning of October 4, 2013, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, another Francis appeared at the Serafico Institute, a charitable facility in Assisi that cares for seriously disabled children and young people.

Pope Francis met the one hundred plus children gathered in the chapel for the occasion of his visit. He spoke to each of them, kissed some, bent down to speak to several in their ears, and traced the sign of the cross on the foreheads of the children who can’t speak.

This new Francis then spoke “off the cuff” to the media assembled for his visit. He spoke of a “savage” world that often doesn’t help, and does not care if there are children in the world who die each day of hunger. Francis then spoke to the Roman Catholic Church, and to all Christians everywhere, urging us to distance ourselves from worldliness, which the Pope shared, “leads to vanity, arrogance and pride.” Francis added that this condition is the “cancer of society, and the enemy of Christ.”

When I learned that Francis prayed before the tomb of St. Francis, after greeting these children who Mother Teresa would have termed, “Christ in distressing disguise,” I couldn’t help but feel renewed gratitude for the spiritual leader of the Catholic world.

I’m still getting used to a Pope who carries his own luggage, and pays his own hotel bills. I’m still adjusting to a Pope who shunned the papal apartment and chose to live in humble surroundings. And I’m still a little surprised at times (but absolutely thrilled) over this Pope who regularly stops his vehicle in public and descends to embrace the disabled, and the weak.

When Cardinal George Mario Bergoglio was introduced on the balcony to the world as “Francis I” this past March, the papal name of “Francis” he chose, told us much about his faith, and his desires for the Church.

When he bowed his head and asked the vast crowd in St. Peter’s Square to “bless him” by praying for him, we knew right away that this Francis, like Francis of Assisi, not only talks about humility – he lives it. Further proof was his referring to himself as the “Bishop of Rome” that day.

Francis of Assisi lived a model life of humility, compassion, and love, while consistently striving to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Shunning materialism and worldly affirmation, Francis of Assisi lived a virtuous life of simplicity, and sought to honor the dignity of everyone – especially the vulnerable, and the outcast.

Francis I is determined to walk the same road.

Today, I am grateful for our new, surprise Pope, who is surprising the Church, and unless I’m mistaken, the world, with his stylistic, and substantive efforts, to begin a new conversation about what it means to be a Christian.

Francis is asking Christians everywhere to live “authentic Christian lives.”

He has repeatedly said he wishes for the Church to be “poor” and “persecuted.” Francis understands that dancing with the cultural and social norms of our day doesn’t square with faith in the living, risen Christ.

Francis is even determined to engage atheists, in friendship, and to call them to lives of faith. He is speaking to “everyone” about what it means to be Christian.

Personally, I’m thrilled and energized by our new Francis. Seeing him in action tells me something important – this man has encountered the Jesus of the Gospels. He gets the Gospel’s message, and he lives it. He believes in the Jesus who ate with tax collectors, and prostitutes.

If I’m not mistaken, he even knows Him, and he is determined to do the same.

Open the windows, and let the fresh air in.