By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
Like most of the world, I first knew of him in 2013 when he was elected pope, and I was impressed by the new pope when the Holy See announced that he had chosen as his name one that no pope had ever chosen before, that is, the name of our founder, St Francis of Assisi. In the 12 years that followed, he was true to his name, simple and approachable, full of vigour and wisdom, and led the Church from one chapter to the next.
In 2014, I personally felt the power of Pope Francis: I was named auxiliary bishop of the diocese! In the face of this “bad news”, I had mixed feelings. At one time, I wondered if the pope had made a mistake, and at another time, I was very excited, wondering how I could repay this trust. I did not know that in the next 10 years, I would have several opportunities to meet, shake hands with and even talk to the Holy Father.
In 2015, I took part in a training course for new bishops in Rome; in 2016, I attended the World Youth Day in Poland; in 2018, I reported on my ministry; and last year, during his visit to Singapore, I led a group of people to participate in the Mass celebrated by the Holy Father. The deepest impression on me came during the joint duty visit to the Vatican with the late Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung and Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang. The three of us had a half-hour chat with Pope Francis, and we felt his warm concern for the pastoral care, evangelisation, and the Church in mainland China.
We can get to know a person by meeting him, by talking to him, but we can also get to know him by reading what he has written. As for Pope Francis, it was only after I was ordained to the episcopate that I began to study his many exhortations and encyclicals, halfheartedly. Although most of these documents are thick, with more than a hundred or two hundred pages, over the past 10 years, I found myself enjoying his writings more and more, because they reveal a pastoral heart full of compassion and spiritual wisdom from God.
In Evangelii Gaudium [The Joy of the Gospel], the pope speaks of the shepherd’s need to have “the smell of the sheep” [paragraph 24], sometimes walking in front of the sheep, sometimes behind them, and sometimes in the middle [cf. paragraph 31]. In what has been hailed as a ground-breaking ecological encyclical, Laudato Si’ [Praise Be to You], he fearlessly challenged the world: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” [paragraph 160] In his exhortation Amoris Laetitia [The Joy of Love], which is devoted to the family, he made it clear that “the Church’s task is often like that of a field hospital” [paragraph 291] which heals and walks alongside its weak and traumatised brothers and sisters.
In 2021, Pope Francis introduced the theme “For a synodal Church” for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, initiating a renewal within the Church that continues to this day. This theme highlights Pope Francis’s visionary and impactful inspiration.
A few days ago, I expressed my gratitude in the tribute book at the cathedral, stating: “Dear most honourable Pope Francis, thank you, our eternal shepherd!”
