Who was St. Francis of Assisi, the namesake of the new pope, the first Jesuit and non-European elected to that position?
Francis was born in the Middle Ages when the middle class was coming into being, said the Rev. Michael Zielke, pastor of St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, and a member of The Order of Friars Minor Conventual, commonly known as the Conventual Franciscans.
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual is a branch of the order of Catholic Friars founded by Francis in 1209.
The order assumed the “spiritual leadership” of the parish, established by Polish immigrants in the late 1800s, early in the 20th century.
Francis’ father was a wealthy cloth merchant who often traveled to France, and when he was away, Francis was born; his mother named him John. His father did not like the name and renamed him Francis in honor of France.
“He wanted him to be a knight,” Zielke said.
After he was taken prisoner during a military engagement for the town of Assisi, Francis got sick in prison and began “to get the inclination the Lord wanted him to do something else,” the priest said.
Eventually he embarked on an itinerant preaching ministry, took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and founded a religious community.
He did not own property, which was the way people at the time made a name for themselves.
“If you owned a lot of property, you’d get more concerned about property than serving the Lord,” Zielke said.
Francis wanted the brothers in his community to focus on being Christ to others — feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, for example.
St. Francis considered himself to be a brother to everyone and found God’s life in all creation, making the environment worthy of respect.
Zielke said in keeping with the spirit of St. Francis, he does not own a car or a home and lives in community with other Franciscans.
“In my life, Francis calls me to simplicity, to the core values” of “wanting to walk in the footsteps of the poor, crucified One,” Jesus.
Pope Francis’ focus on charity, compassion and social work has drawn attention as has his simplicity of lifestyle. He decided not to move into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, but to live in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse where he has been since the beginning of the recent conclave that elected him.
He reportedly enjoys the residence’s community atmosphere where he lives among other clergy.
He also decided to celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in a Rome juvenile detention facility, instead of in St. Peter’s or the Basilica of St. John in Lateran as is traditional, and washed the feet of 12 of the young detainees, who were from different faiths and nationalities.
It was the first time a pontiff included females in the rite that commemorates Christ’s washing of the feet of his 12 male apostles the night before he was crucified.
According to press reports, the pope told the inmates that everyone, including him, had to be in the service of others.
“It is the example of the Lord. He was the most important but he washed the feet of others. The most important must be at the service of others,” he said.
He also insisted on paying his hotel bill in person after his election as pope, and rode in a van back to the hotel with other cardinals.
As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergogli of Buenos Aries, Argentina, he took public transportation and lived in an apartment instead of the archbishop’s grand residence.
“Both Francises aren’t telling us to choose one or the other,” Zielke said of those who are wealthy and those who are not, “but to see Christ in everyone.”
“The Holy Spirit inspired the cardinals to elect Francis to remind us to go back to what is important,” he added, explaining that what is important is “how we are called to follow Christ and to mirror Christ” and reflect his compassion and mercy.
As cardinal, the new pope had chapels and missions built in poor areas and sent seminarians to serve them.
“Christ is calling us all to holiness,” Zielke said. The pope chose the name Francis “to remind us that we all have gifts and talents” that should be used in service of God.
“The Lord is calling us to be faithful, and when we use our gifts for the Lord and give honor to the Lord, we build up his body which is the Church,” he added.
What do he and other members think of the fact the pope selected the name of the founder of their order?
“It will be a good challenge for us to live up to our name,” Zielke said.