In an increasingly polarised world, Pope Francis brought people together

Pope Francis, who has died at the age of 88, was someone who worked to bridge divisions, at a time when too many try to exploit them

The day before he died, Pope Francis celebrated a very special Easter Sunday. For, as the Gregorian and Julian calendars aligned, all Christians marked the occasion on the same day, a rare event. He expressed the hope that “this coincidence may serve as an appeal to all Christians to take a decisive step forward toward unity around a common date for Easter”.

His long-standing hopes of creating a single Easter day was just one sign of his goodwill towards the different branches of Christianity, and he also held out the hand of friendship to people of all faiths and none.

In 2023, Francis made an “ecumenical peace pilgrimage” to South Sudan with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the then Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Iain Greenshields, calling them “two brothers”.

READ MORE: 'A voice for peace': The tributes to Pope Francis after his death – John Swinney, Keir Starmer, archbishops

Pope Francis and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar shake hands outside the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September (Picture: Oscar Siagian) | Getty Images

‘A universal peace’ for all

He frequently visited synagogues and spoke out against anti-semitism, insisting that “due to our common roots, a Christian cannot be anti-semitic!”

He was the first Pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula, and in 2019, he issued a joint statement with Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, in which they called for “reconciliation and fraternity among all believers, indeed among believers and non-believers, and among all people of good will”; condemned “deplorable violence and blind extremism”; and spoke to the need to find “a universal peace that all can enjoy in this life”.

Following Pope Benedict’s decision to retire, Francis turned out to be less of a reformer than some within the church had hoped, but the change of tone was undeniable.

In the many tributes, his sense of humour was mentioned repeatedly, and it was a subject he took seriously. In an essay for the New York Times in December, Francis wrote: “Irony is a medicine, not only to lift and brighten others but also ourselves, because self-mockery is a powerful instrument in overcoming the temptation toward narcissism.”

In an increasingly polarised world, in which there are too many who try to exploit divisions, Francis sought to bridge those same divides with humility, compassion and good humour. Humanity needs more leaders like him.