Pope Francis: Servant to the Servants of God 

Francis was the Pope the Church needed in this time of growing inequality and overweening arrogance of the powerful.

From his initial decision to stay not in the Vatican Palace, but in the House of Saint Martha guest house with other pilgrims to the Holy See, to his continuous outreach to the dispossessed and the oppressed, he strove to make the Church one that would be welcoming to a poor Palestinian refugee carpenter.

He was a shepherd who kept close to the sheep, and a pontiff who took to heart the title of Servant to the Servants of God.

To paraphrase Paul, from his letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:7-8): he has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he did keep the faith.

There is reserved for him the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, gives him on this day, and will give not only to him, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The Board of Pax Christi Metro New York