Cardinal Tagle remembers Pope Francis, the ‘Beloved Disciple’

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Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle says that in private audiences, Pope Francis' first question to him was always personal: 'How are your parents?'

Editor’s Note: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, delivered a homily on Friday, April 25, in a Mass for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. Part of the homily talks about his personal experiences with Francis, a man he compared to Saint John, the Beloved Disciple.

Here is an excerpt from Tagle’s homily:

We are used to the tandem Saint Peter and Saint Paul. But our two readings highlight the partnership between Saint Peter and the Beloved Disciple. In the Gospel of John, the Beloved Disciple is not named although Tradition has associated him with Saint John. The Beloved Disciple opens Peter’s eyes to recognize the Lord and His deeds in Peter’s activities. I want to believe that the Beloved Disciple helps Peter remain humble, always attributing to the Lord, and not to his own effort, every fruitful catch and good deed.

Each one of us needs both Peter and the Beloved Disciple in his heart. A Peter who acts and a Beloved Disciple who points to Jesus, the source of our fruitfulness.

In this Mass, we pray to the merciful Father to welcome into His Kingdom our beloved Pope Francis. These past 12 years, he has been the Successor of Peter. But I have known him also as the Beloved Disciple.

We were together in the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in 2005 as delegates of our respective episcopal conferences. At the end of the synod we were both elected to the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops for a term of three years. In 2008 we were speakers in the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada. He represented Latin America while I represented Asia. I often expressed to him my limited knowledge of the topics assigned to me and my lack of preparation for speeches. But he never failed to encourage me, to help me see the hand of the Lord. From Buenos Aires, he wrote to me letters of congratulations when he heard of something good that I had done. But I did not respond to any of them. He believed in me more than I trusted in myself.

During meetings he always joked with me. We took jokes seriously. For the conclave of 2013, our flights arrived in Fiumicino airport a few minutes apart. Seeing me he said, “What is this little boy doing here?” To which I responded, “And what is this old man doing here?” A few days later I had to call him “Your Holiness.”

When I was called to work in the Roman Curia, I thought it was just a joke. It ended up being a serious joke. To make up for all the letters I did not answer, this time I said “Yes.” I suppose that in his eyes I am always a little boy. In my private audiences with him, his first question was always, “How are your parents?” Before dealing with documents and “business,” he reminded me of my parents and of myself as a child.

There is much to remember and to celebrate in the successor of Peter who is a beloved disciple but let me close with an experience during his pastoral visit to the Philippines in 2015. He was surprised to see the millions of people who welcomed him on his arrival in Manila. Before descending the popemobile in the apostolic nunciature he asked me, “How much did you pay those people?” I quickly answered, “I promised them eternal life if they greeted the Successor of Peter.” Turning serious, he said, “They did not come out to see me. They came to see Jesus.”

The Beloved Disciple has another name, Peter. – Rappler.com