Pope Francis “really embraced the world” and wanted to be with the people of God at all times, said Monsignor Hilary Franco on Newmax.
“I was very close to the Holy Father. I knew him since 2002,” Franco said Monday during an appearance on “Newsline.”
“I was present at his inauguration, and I continued to be with him several times during these 12 years of great action by a pope who really embraced the world, not only the church. He wanted to be with the people of God at all times. And this is the courage that was given to him by the Holy Spirit.
“Even yesterday, being with the people of God, the 50,000 people were insane at St. Peter’s Square. He wanted to go down in that popemobile and actually went through the square. He touched some children, just like he used to do all the time. He was that kind of a man.”
Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday. He was 88.
He suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.
He made his last public appearance on Easter Sunday — a day before his death — to bless thousands of people in Vatican City, drawing wild cheers and applause. Beforehand, he met Vice President J.D. Vance.
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