In Vietnamese churches, public memorial services are being held for the pontiff. On behalf of the communist authorities, a government official burnt incense in his memory at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference. No cardinal from this lively and courageous Church will be at the conclave, but everyone remembers Francis’s suggestion that his successor will certainly go to Vietnam.
Cardinal Re led the service in the parvis of St Peter’s. “Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us,” he said. The conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy inside the basilica was the highlight of the political side of the event. The presence of heads of state and government from Asia and the Middle East was significant. The bishops of mainland China sent a message of condolence, which the Xinhua news agency mentioned without citing the text.
The meeting in 2017 in Bangladesh with a delegation of one million exiles from Myanmar was one of the most touching moments in the pontiff's trip. He often remembered that embrace in the following years. “Pope Francis was a beacon of hope for the marginalised, a voice for the voiceless, and a man whose humility touched hearts across all boundaries,” Peter Saiful told AsiaNews. Fr Josim, a tribal convert to Christianity whom the pontiff ordained a priest in Dhaka, was told: “Your hands are holy. Use these hands for holy work.”
The pontiff's death has a special echo in the special autonomous region where Catholicism is deeply rooted. His call to be “a poor Church for the poor” prompted local Catholics to develop services for migrant workers and the elderly. The agreement with Beijing on episcopal appointments was “a step toward greater progress in evangelisation”.
With all his soul, the pope wished to rescue the face of Russia's "mad holiness", that of its monks and pilgrims, its great artists and musicians, its writers capable of opening horizons of true universal union. That is why he often quoted Dostoevsky. Now, in his death, he promises us that in this inextricable inner struggle between good and evil, the face of Christ is always revealed in the human soul.
For days, Catholics and non-Catholics alike have been paying tribute to Pope Francis. A ‘national day of mourning’ has been declared to coincide with the funeral. Cardinal Ranjith recalls the support given to the victims of the Easter massacre. For President Dissanayake, he was an example of ‘compassion, justice and interreligious harmony’ for all the people.
A source talked to AsiaNews about how Chinese Catholics are coping with Francis’s death. Remarks and pictures abound on local social media. “Amid the sorrow and mourning, the joy of announcing love prevailed,” as “a spontaneous explosion, not very cautious, but conscious that death and fear are not the last word.” An elderly lady and the Pope shared an “impossible dream”: she wanted to visit the Vatican, while he wanted to visit China.
On a visit to the archbishop’s residence, the president bowed three times before the pope’s picture. A Taiwanese delegation will travel to Vatican City led by former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, a Catholic. Meanwhile, three days after the pontiff’s death, the Patriotic Association posts a statement on his death, calling for prayers.
In a letter, women of different faiths and nationalities (including many from Asia) express “respect and gratitude” for the pontiff who recognised their "vital role”. In the meeting in the Vatican in January 2023, he urged them to rediscover the “feminine aspects" in every religion. His memory is a blessing and a call to continue to build a world in which everyone is listened to, valued, and empowered.
Civil and religious leaders have paid homage to the memory of the Argentinean pontiff. Under his leadership, the Church completed the efforts begun by predecessors to bring Islam and Christianity closer together in the face of escalating fundamentalism. From the banking crisis to the explosion at the port of Beirut, the pope's closeness in the face of the great tragedies in the country's recent history.
Some of the pilgrims and onlookers in Rome paying homage to Bergoglio's coffin are from Asia, from Mumbai and Seoul to Hanoi and Shanghai. Believers and non-believers spoke to AsiaNews about their presence in the Vatican to witness this historic moment. “We are Hindus but [. . .] it was important to be here.” “He will be remembered by Koreans for a long time.” Unable to see him in Singapore, others are now in Rome as pilgrims.
The Chaldean Patriarch spoke to AsiaNews about the late pope on the eve of his departure for Rome to attend the pontiff's funeral and the conclave. Francis was a "prophetic" voice that spoke not only to Christians, but to all Iraqis. His historic trip in March 2021 and the message of peace and brotherhood are his legacy. He “was able to read and grasp the signs of the times better than anyone else.”
The 12 years of Francis’s pontificate were marked by 13 trips in Asia, from the first visit to South Korea to the long journey last September to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. During this time, his message of peace and hope strengthened the ties between the Church and various Asian cultures.
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