Leo XIV, successor of PeterIt's not a spelling mistake, no; it's just that today I want to call him that: Dad. Because, I don't know about you, but what I have felt, since Pope Francis left us on Easter Monday, has been an enormous sense of orphanhood.
It is not sappiness or sentimentality, it is that the popes, the very etymology of the word says it, are true fathers, spiritual fathers of the Christian community. Apparently, the term comes from the Greek "Pappas" and was used since the first centuries of Christianity to name not only the successor of Peter, but also the rest of the bishops and even the presbyters, just as today we address them with the title of father. It was in the Middle Ages when it began to be used only to address the bishop of Rome.
The death of our father (again with an accent) Francis left us without a guide, without a shepherd, a bit disoriented because we loved him very much and he exercised very well that spiritual paternity of pointing out a way, of leading this common pilgrimage to heaven that is life.
The figure of the pope, like that of fathers, is fundamental for every human being, child or adult. It is a reference figure that marks us as persons and helps us to grow, to mature and, from the memory of his teachings, even to grow old.
Like dads, the pope provides security, supporting us in our day-to-day struggles, continually telling us about Jesus and making us feel that we are not alone, that He always takes care of us, protects us and accompanies us in our pain.
Like parents, the pope teaches us, educates us, points out the good and bad paths for our life. He has experience and preaches by example, that is why he has authority. He is a model of life, someone to imitate.
Like dads, the pope also offers us discipline. And we don't all like that. We don't want limits and, for that reason, like dads, many despise the pope.
Like dads, the pope helps us to relate to others. He makes us feel part of the family of God's children and of the great human family.
Like the Popes, the Pope stimulates us cognitively, encourages us to think, to reflect, to seek the paths of Christian life. With his magisterium he challenges us, he does not allow us to become complacent, but continually shakes us out of our tendency to doze off.
Like dads, the pope provides us with what we need to live, the nourishment of the Word of God without which the Christian life is extinguished.
Like dads, the pope takes care of mother-Church, the most important woman in the life of every human being. She is the one who breastfeeds us with the Eucharist, the one who embraces us with forgiveness and mercy, the one who accompanies us when we are sick or in need....
That is why I have loved all the popes I have known for as long as I can remember; and, for that reason, I already love Leo XIV. No one chooses his or her father, but we are all called, as children, to honor our father and mother. We may like more or less their accents, their tendencies, their ways, but deep down, a good child knows how to recognize, value and love a parent.
There are already sons who will not love Leo XIV, sons who will want to go their own way and who will criticize every decision of their father. Interested children who are not willing to accept meekly and with humility of heart the authority of the pope. Children who will not know how to see that, behind the spiritual paternity of the successor of Peter, there is that of God who has sent him to us, as he sent us one day to our father's and mother's house, to help us.
That's up to them. Today I can only thank God for the father he has given us. I am eager to listen to him, to be fed, to imitate him, to learn from him... If I seem childish to them, I invite them, with Jesus, to become like children in order to understand what this is all about. And, as the little ones say to show off in front of their friends, today I tell them that "my daddy is the best".
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
Leo XIV, successor of Peter
