Ten Moments that Marked the Tenth Anniversary of Pope Francis’ Pontificate

Francis’ pontificate was full of unique moments that have become symbols and messages over these ten years of teaching, among which stands out the place chosen for his first trip, the Italian island of Lampedusa, considered the gateway to Europe for migrants, or his historic meeting in 2016 at Havana airport with Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill.

Here are ten highlights:

1.- FEET WASHING IN PRISONS — The Pope on his knees washes the feet of young prisoners on Maundy Thursday 28 March 2013, including two women, a Serbian Muslim woman and an Italian Catholic, in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center in Rome. the first gesture that made us think that francisco was dad with different style.

2.- TRIP TO LAMPEDUSA – He Pope Francisco He chose an unexpected place for his first trip: the island of Lampedusa in Sicily, the closest to the African coast, and considered the door to Europe for migrants in search of a future. It was July 8, 2013, and from there he began his “globalization of indifference” message, which over the years has led him to repeatedly denounce indifference to those who come from afar.

3.- REVOLUTIONARY ENCYCLIC LAUDATO SI’ – On May 24, 2015, the Pope published his second and revolutionary encyclical: it was “Laudato si’, care for the common home”, where for the first time the Pope spoke broadly and as a topic to be considered. with., occupy the church of environmental protection and climate change. It has become an environmental manifesto for the whole world.

4.- HISTORICAL MEETING WITH KIRIL – February 12, 2016 Pope Francisco He made a stop in Cuba before visiting Mexico to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Cirilo at the Havana airport. This was the first meeting of the leaders of the two Churches after the schism of 1054 and after it, and with the war in Ukraine, it remained only a memory and an attempt, for some who failed, to get closer.

5.- TRIP TO CHILE – Visit dad to Chile in January 2018 was considered the true dividing line in the pontificate francisco and his fight against child abuse by members of the Church. In Chile, there was real opposition to the visit by most of its inhabitants due to abuse scandals, and the Pope’s stance in defense of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, accused of a cover-up, further hardened opinions.

Upon his return, he ordered a historical investigation, and in April 2018 dad He admitted that he made “serious miscalculations” in the Barros case, met with the victims of pedophile priest Fernando Karadima and called on all Chilean bishops to relieve them of their positions.

6.- THE EXILE OF M.K. KERRIK. On February 18, 2019, and following an investigation, former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was sentenced to retire from the clergy for corruption and abuse. Pope Francisco, after Carlo Maria Viganò, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, accused him of covering for him. Viganò became the leader of the church’s conservative wing against Francisco.

7.- KISS THE FEET OF THE LEADERS OF SOUTH SUDAN – In another diplomatic gesture franciscoOn April 12, 2019, in order to encourage the peace process, the Pope knelt and kissed the feet of the warring leaders in South Sudan whom he had gathered in Vatican.

8.- PRAYER IN THE EMPTY SQUARE OF SAN PEDRO DURING THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE – March 28, 2020 dad he came alone to the completely empty St. Peter’s Square in the pouring rain to pray for a world facing the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that he only gets out of it if they all row together.

9.- AMONG THE RUINS OF MOsul – In March 2021 Pope Francisco He traveled to Iraq, and his image of him praying among the ruins of the city of Mosul, a few meters from the Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, a symbol of the rise and fall of the Islamic State, went around the world.

10.- HAND ON THE COFFIN OF BENEDICT XVI – With a powerful image francisco laying hands on the coffin of his predecessor Benedict XVI, after the funeral, the “epoch of two popes” ended and a new stage of the pontificate began (EFE – Cristina Cabrejas)