CNS photo/Vatican Media

ATLANTA–On March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals to succeed Pope Benedict XVI who had resigned the papacy for health reasons. He chose the name Francis in honor of my own spiritual father, St. Francis of Assisi.

A member of the Society of Jesus, he was the first pope to hail from South America. When he appeared on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time, we saw a man who appeared nervous and awestruck. He was unknown to many of us.  Before giving his blessing to the world, he said: “And now I would like to give the blessing, but first, first I ask a favor of you: before the bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me.”

This humility would define his papacy. In an interview with journalists shortly after his election, the Holy Father, he recounted that his Brazilian friend, Cardinal Claudio Hummes “comforted” him on his selection as Pope and asked him not to forget the poor. He chose to be called Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, in his own words, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation … the same created world with which we don’t have such a good relationship. How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor.”

True to his word, he was a champion for the poor and marginalized. He visited 68  countries in the course of a 12-year papacy, traveling to the peripheries of the world. He was a “Pope of the People.”  He had a beautiful personal touch and engaged with people at every opportunity. Even on Easter Sunday, a very tired and frail Pope Francis was driven through St. Peter’s Square to greet the crowds who had gathered for Easter Mass. And then, he gave his final blessing to the world from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

I had the privilege of meeting our Holy Father on three separate occasions. One of those meetings was for two and a half hours when he met with the bishops of Georgia and Florida on our Ad Limina visit. We had a wonderful conversation among us with him. He was very attentive and answered all of our questions. The final time I met him was at his weekly Wednesday audience. He had just published a book entitled “The Nativity at Christmas.” He wrote the book during the 800th year anniversary of the first Christmas crèche created by Saint Francis of Assisi 1224. I brought the book with me, and I asked him if he would sign it for me. Without hesitation, he graciously signed his name on the inside cover: “Francis.”  He would always end the visits with me by asking me to pray for him, which I have done every day.

Pope Francis had a special love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was a frequent visitor to the Basilica of St. Mary Major where he prayed before the icon of the Blessed Mother, attributed to the evangelist St. Luke, as Salus Populi Romani (Salvific Health of the Roman Peoples). After the Holy Father was discharged from hospital a few weeks ago, he made his last visit to the basilica to pray and to place flowers before the image.

We have lost our spiritual father. While there is sadness in my heart, there is also a deep sense of gratitude for his ministry and his witness. Pope Francis has made the world a better place by his tireless service. We entrust his noble soul to Almighty God. May he rest in peace and may his memory be eternal.