(By John Blackeye) The Pope I saw yesterday was not the Pope of liberation theology. Yesterday's Pope, the one who slowly climbed in the rain to reach the churchyard of St. Peter's Basilica, was not the modernist Pope that many, to distance themselves, had started calling "Bergoglio". It was not even the Pope who on the evening of his election on the Soglio di Pietro had presented himself as the "Bishop of Rome”, Almost to overshadow the role of Pope and it was not even the Pope who, fomented by the modernist spirit brought to the Vatican by many prelates tired of the Gospel, had been dragged in front of the goddess Pachamama at the end of a Synod on the 'Amazonia that was supposed to upset the world by introducing the end of celibacy for priests.
Last night in that rain, in total solitude and in an empty St. Peter's square on which the eyes of the whole world rested, I saw the prodigal son.
I really saw the prodigal son who after following the numerous ways that led him elsewhere, tugged now on one side and now on the other, not having found what he was looking for, returned to the Father.
And so yesterday evening, under those rainy clouds that denied the last flashes of a late spring afternoon to illuminate the square, almost penitent, I saw the Pope returning to the Father.
The steps of Pope Francis are slow and weighed down. The fatigue of an eighty-year-old man hides badly under the Pontiff's robes. In that huge square where the cobblestones sprinkled by the rain reflect the artificial lights that illuminate that strange stage, we observe the Vicar of Christ who slowly approaches the Basilica.
No one is beside him, like the prodigal son, is presenting himself to the Father alone. However, it is carrying the weight of all humanity with it.
On the churchyard, the Pope wanted the effigy of the Salus Populi Romani (salvation of the Roman people), a Byzantine icon depicting the Madonna and Child found in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. On another side the Pope wanted the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso. It is a crucifix that was saved from a fire in 1519 and then, in 1522, made the plague disappear from the capital after a procession. The Pope prayed first under the effigy of the Mother and then under that of the Crucified Son. His gaze is tired, pleading.
From that churchyard the Pope with great grace perhaps warned the whole of humanity saying: "For weeks it seems that evening has fallen. Dense darkness has thickened on our squares, streets and cities; they took over our lives filling everything with a deafening silence and a desolate void, which paralyzes everything in its passage: you can feel it in the air, you can feel it in your gestures, the looks say it. We found ourselves afraid and lost. The storm unmasks our vulnerability and leaves uncovered those false and superfluous certainties with which we have built our agendas, our projects, our habits and priorities. We continued undaunted, thinking of always staying healthy in a sick world. Now, while we are in a rough sea, we implore you: "Wake up Lord!".
The Pope practically took the photograph of the modern world, a world without God, a world devoted to selfishness, personal interest, oppression: a world immersed in evil.
But that God who promised to always remain among us, until the end of time, has kept His promise again this evening. A priest, escorted by a cleric with the canopy, is carrying the Most Holy in the Monstrance, pass through an immense empty basilica. The Holy Host is placed on the altar above the churchyard. God is with us.
The Pope is seated in front of the Eucharistic Jesus. Pray. In the background, in the rain, some police cars are the backdrop that lined up outside the colonnade recalled by the historic event. At some point the bells of the Basilica ring, the police cars turn on the sirens. Something very important, unique in the history of the world is about to happen. The Pope with great effort takes the Monstrance in his hands, takes a few steps to look out into the world and with a slow gesture and with much effort, marks Humanity with the sign of the Cross, imparting a special blessing "Urbi and Orbi”Which only on this occasion will wipe out sins and pains. It is a unique event. The purification of humanity in one gesture.
Nothing like this has ever been seen, what happened tonight has never happened in the history of the Church. God, who leaves us free to do evil, have mercy on us and listen to the prayers of His Representative on Earth, freeing us from this scourge.
May the people of God, who accompanied the Pope with prayer and with the Rosary in their hands, have faith in the Mercy of the Most High.
The Mother of God touches the hearts of all those who, even in the face of events like these, remain impassive and ready to start life again from the point where they left it. But let's be careful. God who has the edges of the Universe in his hands will not allow the world to restart its race towards the abyss by putting the Creator aside again.