The other night we watched a movie called, “The Two Popes,” starring Jonathan Pryce (as the future Pope Francis) and Anthony Hopkins (as the outgoing Pope Benedict). Though largely fictionalized, it was moving, inspiring, and thought-provoking.
I was brought up as a Protestant; my family attended a Methodist church around the corner from our home in Milpitas. I had a number of Catholic friends throughout the years, but didn’t know much about their religion.
Living for four years in Italy and southern Switzerland, where the majority of people are Catholic, was an eye-opening experience for me. I loved hearing church bells coming from all directions on Sunday mornings. And I loved watching on Palm Sunday as a procession — with priests, altar boys, and congregation — wound its way through the narrow streets of the small village where we were living.
But what touched me the most was being there in 2005 while Pope John Paul II was dying. My father was visiting from California and we took him to Milan to see the magnificent Duomo. As it turned out, instead of walking around and admiring the impressive art and architecture, we sat in the back of the cathedral and joined the hundreds of people who were congregated there to pray for the Pope.
A few days later, for the first time in my life, I heard a bell tolling and knew that John Paul had died. The sadness was palpable throughout the entire region. But soon the bells were ringing again, this time joyously…celebrating the election of Pope Benedict.
I moved from perceiving “the Pope” as an abstract concept to having a felt awareness of his significance, and I found I could relate.
Fast forward to Sacramento Airport in March of 2013. Ramesha and I were waiting to board our flight when we saw on the television in the waiting area that there was a new pope. No one else in the gate area was paying any attention, but we were suddenly glued to the screen. And that was when we were first introduced to Pope Francis.
Again, I’m not Catholic, but in some indefinable way I feel like he’s my Pope. I think this is part of why I found the movie so very touching.