UCA News: Robert Mickens Letter from Rome – Wednesdays with Francis
By Robert Mickens Published: May 30, 2025
Link to article: https://www.ucanews.com/news/wednesdays-with-francis/109181
Francis tenaciously clung to the challenging words of the gospel, which were the lens through which he viewed the world. We will probably never see another pope like him.
We were all shocked when Pope Francis died the day after Easter. We had just seen him the day before, giving the Urbi et Orbi Blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and then moving through the crowds in the square below in the popemobile.On Easter Monday, as I was having coffee, I got a text message from a friend who works in the Vatican. “The pope has died,” it said. I was numb. Then, within what felt like just a few seconds, I began receiving messages from various media outlets asking if I was available to comment on the news. Throughout that entire day and the following one, I conducted radio interviews, primarily with the BBC, from the earliest hours of the morning until late at night.
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Robert Mickens was an excellent columnist at The Tablet. He was missed when he left. This article was surprising and for me, unexpected. His very emotional reaction at the tomb of Pope Francis was most unlikely. The connection he then made with his own father showed how people and places and moments can stir up a volcano of memories. Robert both praised Francis and was also critical. The genius of Francis was his ability to be simple, direct, blunt, inspirational, evocative, ordinary and profound. We need our people of vision who aren’t hidebound by convention. Robert showed us how blessed we were in having such a man as our Pope. We are grateful.