UN Secretary General remembers Pope Francis

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

In the wake of Pope Francis' death on Easter Monday, 21 April, the United Nations has paid him homage in a special way.

On Tuesday, 29 April, in New York, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the General Assembly, praising Pope Francis and remembering his impact on the world.

"His Holiness Pope Francis was a man of faith and a bridge-builder among all faiths," he said, noting, "He was a champion of the most marginalized people on earth."

Moreover, Guterres insisted, the late Pope "was a voice of community in a world of division," "a voice of mercy in a world of cruelty," and "a voice of peace in a world of war."

Voice of peace in world of war

The late Pope Francis, the UN Secretary General noted, spoke about "our organization's ideal of a 'united human family harmony, working not only for peace, but in peace, working not only for justice, but in a spirit of justice.'"

In this context, he said that on behalf of the UN family, he wished to extend their deepest condolences to the Catholic community and so many others around the world "grieving this tremendous loss."

Antonio Guterres remembers late Pope Francis at UN Headquarters

Moreover, he remembered that while Pope Francis was at the helm of the Catholic Church for a dozen years, that time was preceded by decades of service and good works, even frequently serving the poor in the slums of Buenos Aires.

Faith for action and change

"These early experiences," he highlighted, "sharpened his conviction that faith must be an engine of action and change."

In addition, Guterres recalled that Pope Francis was "an unstoppable voice for social justice and equality," and how his 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, drew a straight line between greed and poverty, hunger, inequality and suffering.

"While decrying the inequality that defines our globalized economy," the UN Secretary General admired, "he also warned against what he called the 'globalization of indifference.'"

Champion for the migrants and refugees

In a special way, Guterres remembered the first official visit he undertook as Pope, to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in 2013 "to put a global spotlight on the desperate plight of asylum seekers and migrants."

At that time, the UN Secretary General recalled, Pope Francis "warned against 'the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.'"

In addition, for last year's World Refugee Day, Guterres remembered, Pope Francis "called on all countries to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors."

Humanity and humility

Reflecting on his first encounter with the late Holy Father as Secretary-General in the Vatican in 2019, he said, "I was struck by his humanity and humility."

"He always saw challenges," he noted, "through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life."

In addition, Guterres praised him as "a pilgrim for peace," who ventured to war-torn countries around the world from Iraq to South Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond decrying bloodshed and violence, and pushing for reconciliation, who would say, "we can never look away from injustice and inequality or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence."

Defending the innocent and suffering

Antonio Guterres stressed that Pope Francis "stood with conviction for innocents caught in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza," certainly "with his global platform, but he also did it in much more personal and profound ways," including his regular phone calls to the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

"As someone at the Church said," he observed, "'He would ask us how we were, what did we eat, did we ha clean water, was anyone injured? It was never diplomatic or a matter of obligation....but the questions a father would ask.'"

In a special way, the UN Secretary General remembered how even in Pope Francis' last public appearance on Easter Sunday, he resolutely called for the ending of conflicts.

Moral duty to act

Antonio Guterres highlighted how Pope Francis embodied the call for justice for peoples and for the planet, and that thanks to his encyclical Laudato si’ published in 2015, he contributed to the adoption of the Paris Agreement by calling on leaders to protect our common home.

"He highlighted the clear links between environmental degradation and the degradation of the human condition," he said, adding, "Pope Francis understood that those who had contributed the least to the climate crisis were suffering its most severe consequences, and that we have a spiritual and moral duty to act."

Messenger of hope

In today's world of division and discord, he continued, it is particularly significant that Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 as the Year of Hope.

Remembering the late Pope as always being "a messenger of hope," Guterres said,  "Now it is up to all of us to carry this hope forward."

"As we mourn the death of Pope Francis," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concluded, "let us renew our commitment to peace, human dignity, and social justice—the causes to which he dedicated every moment of his extraordinary life."

The photo of the late Pope Francis is displayed on a screen in the General Assembly ahead of a session paying tribute to his death at UN headquarters