'He really had the heart of Christ in him' – Cardinal Wilfrid Napier on Pope Francis' legacy

CapeTalk and 702's Africa Melane interviews Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop Emeritus of Durban.

Listen below:

Pope Francis, the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday at the age of 88, following a stroke.

He had been recovering from double pneumonia that had left him hospitalised for five weeks.

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Cardinal Napier reflects on the legacy Francis leaves behind – one that began from the moment he assumed the papacy.

Highlighting some of the late pope’s most notable achievements, Napier says that one that stands out is how Francis 'saw himself as a leader of a team' rather than as an individual with supreme power. 

"Instead of going and sitting on the chair and having all the cardinals come and greet him, he went straight down the full length of the chapel to go and greet one of the cardinals in a wheelchair... I think that was one of the first signs that this man is coming into this position as a servant, not as somebody who's in charge and a ruler."

- Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop Emeritus of Durban

Yet, Napier also reflects on some of the challenges Francis faced, saying that the pope was often 'ahead of them' in many regards.

Just weeks into his papacy, Francis visited a prison in Rome and humbly washed the feet of inmates.

Even in his final days, that same spirit endured, says Napier.

Just two days before his passing, he visited another prison.

Though too weak to kneel and wash feet, he told the inmates that all he could do was be close to them.

"These are the touching moments which revealed that he really had the heart of Christ in him."

- Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, Archbishop Emeritus of Durban

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