With Pope Francis departing from Philadelphia tonight, I think it is time for all of us non-Catholic people to discuss why he is such a great guy. Watching the news this week, it was amazing to see how many people were lined up waiting for him to arrive here. The hype for the Catholic community was insane and I had a couple of friends that got a little excited. Below is an actual reaction from when he landed in the States.
He talked about things such as immigration and climate change. He used quotes such as "We the people of this continent are not fearful of foreigners because most of us were once the foreigners." and "A great challenge: stop ruining the garden which God entrusted to us so that all of us may enjoy it.". Where not everyone agrees on these two subjects, he had a way of bringing all of the people together. With the voice that he has, he is so powerful and has a way with people so the masses (hehe, yes, pun intended) listen to him. He has an effect on so many people.
Pope Francis covered so many topics that America has been struggling to agree on lately and no matter what party or religion you represent, he is thinking about the good of the people and he has a full heart that is ready to give and cares about everyone. I think he had a peaceful and insightful way of discussing these things in front of all of Congress and the whole country for that matter.
I had the pleasure of going to Rome this past spring and the Pope set up a church especially made for the homeless to come and set up camp whenever they need to at night.It is inspiring to see that someone as powerful as him to be humbling himself and putting others who aren't as fortunate into a safe place to stay until they get back on their feet. Another thing was how the people of Rome respected him. My mom and I thought it was funny to buy a Pope bobble head, but a tour guide of ours was talking about how important he is to the city and how disrespectful it was to buy one of those. Once we saw it from that perspective, it was easy to see how much they love and appreciate him.
It is crazy to think that he can be so influential on so many people of not only America and Italy, but the whole world. He is a household name in all of the countries on Earth. Not only is he a great person with a huge voice and a humanitarian for everyone, but he is so nice and precious! I for one am a huge fan and I have always thought of myself as a person who has little chance of being Catholic. I think that Pope Francis really puts meaning into the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?" because he, to me is doing that.
When the Pope left America he said “Right now I feel elated, kind of a little bit high on life,". He is a humble man with tons to offer to the world and I feel so relieved that he is representing something as challenging as the Catholic religion. Pope Francis has definitely caught my attention and I cant wait to see what he does next. All I have to say to him is come back soon!!
Fun facts about the coolest Pope ever: he speaks four different languages, was a bouncer at a club before becoming a priest, and he has a rock album coming out!
