IN THAT NAME there is the sense of (TRUE) poverty

by Brother Paolo Martinelli
Capuchin friar

As member of a Franciscan order for many years, hearing that the new Pope wanted to call himself by the name of the saint of Assisi filled me with wonder and joy. Before thinking about how current Saint Francis is, I thought of the ecclesiastical meaning of this choice: this saint was one of the most charismatic figures of history who, at the same time, had a radical love of the Church, in particular for the “Lord Pope,” of whom he was quick to ask recognition of his rule of life. This was totally unlike other realities of his time that in the name of the “spiritual” liberated themselves from the Church, deemed to be too “carnal.” That the Pope chose the name Francis indicates in his very ministry the indissolubility between hierarchical gifts and charismatic ones, which, as blessed John Paul II said, are both coessential to the mission of evangelization.

The root of Saint Francis’ love of the Church, also in its hierarchy, has a precise foundation: the sacramental dimension of the Christian life, which culminates in the Eucharist. This is the discovery that the Mystery truly communicates itself in the fragility of the sign. And this is the origin of the wonder that characterized Saint Francis, at God’s humble entrance into the flesh. Here lies the sense of poverty, peace, and praise for creation that Pope Francis evoked as the reason for choosing this name. In fact, it is not a matter of generic values, but of the desire to bear in himself the human form with which Christ realized salvation, thus arriving at recognizing the presence of the Mystery in every circumstance of life. Finally, the name of Francis reminds us that the Church can only be experienced as fraternity, only in relationships that are “given” and not invented by us, and through which we are thrown wide open to the totality of life.