Pico Iyer, essayist and author of The Half Known Life:In Search of Paradise and more recently Aflame: Learning from Silence, reflects on the passing of Pope Francis and the profound influence the pontiff had on him — despite the fact that Iyer is neither a Catholic nor a Protestant Christian. He highlights how Pope Francis’s humility, simplicity, and alignment of actions with values deeply shaped his own spiritual journey.
Paul Elie, religion scholar with the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, and author of The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s shares his first hand impressions of meeting Pope Francis — making special note of how humble and unpretentious the Pope was. Elie says some of Pope Francis’s early experiences growing up in Argentina shaped his more progressive world views. Elie also reflects on the legacy that Pope Francis leaves behind on the world and on the Catholic Church.
Pico Iyer, pictured here, says: “In this age of division, a man who can speak on behalf of the Rohingya in Myanmar, on behalf of the Yazidis in the Middle East, on the behalf of everyone, and especially those on the margins of society is rare. [He’s] fearless and just what we need.” Photo courtesy of Derek Shapton.
Aflame: Learning from Silence, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer.
The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s
