Tributes have been pouring in for Pope Francis since he passed away on Monday.
Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, called the late pope a ‘warm and humorous’ man, adding that it will ‘take a while for him to sort out his memories of him’. The Archbishop has served in his role since 2013, and had ‘known and worked’ with Pope Francis, also appointed that year.
The head of the Catholic Church passed away on April 21, following a battle with a respiratory illness. Crowds lined up at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral following the death of the 88-year-old on Easter Monday.
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His death was announced by the Vatican after he battled respiratory illness for months. The pontiff was hospitalised in Rome earlier this year after suffering bronchitis – an inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes in the lungs.
His condition worsened as doctor’s had to change his treatment due to a “complex clinical situation”. After undergoing an X-ray, it was confirmed he was suffering from double pneumonia.
Posting to the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Archbishop said: “Personally, I knew him and worked with him, so it’ll take a while for me to sort out my own memories of him.
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“When he was elected, I remember his first day in the office, welcoming him into the library where the popes receive the great and the good in the Apostolic Palace. He had never worked in the Vatican before that, so he had it all to learn.
“Because there had been no time to brief him beforehand, I was asked to put before him a couple of draft speeches for his official meetings that morning, with the College of Cardinals, Christian leaders from all over the world, and so on. He dutifully sat down in the big chair, picked up a draft speech, read a few lines and then put it down.
“Another priest and I waited to see if he wanted something but, instead, he looked up and gazed silently towards the other end of the room, where there is a serene painting of Christ by Perugino. And he took a minute to be still and to pray instead.
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“It felt like he was still absorbing what had just happened to him, and was calmly getting ready for what was next – the rest of his life as the Bishop of Rome. He never looked afraid.”
He goes on to say that Pope Francis was ‘interested in real people’. He continued: “In fact, I always found Pope Francis warm, confident, personable, and always humorous.
“He had to meet fellow heads of state and heads of government, he had to meet endless numbers of VIPs, but his real warmth and passion was always for people, not personages. He was interested in real people, their welfare, their sufferings.
“Pope Francis was a man of our times, and through his closeness to the poor and the weak, he made us ask again whether we want a world governed by mere self-interest or one built on care and respect for each other as fellow pilgrims.”