Francis of Assisi received the mission statement to rebuild the Church, and restored with his own hands the Shrine of Our Lady of Fair Love of the Porziuncola. He was later able to transmit his message of poverty to the whole Church from which a true renewal, a true reform, was born. Now that we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation, it is good to remember - in the words of John Paul II - that "the true reformers are the saints". They let God act in them and, through their lives, they truly reform the Church.

On March 13, 2013, the first non-European pope, Latin American, was elected. Arriving "almost from the end of the world", as he introduced himself on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he proposed to reform the Church following in the footsteps of the saint of Assisi, Vatican II and his predecessors. The message has resonated with the Christian people, whom he asked for their blessing after his election, at the beginning of his pontificate. Many of the more than 1.2 billion Catholics have regained pride in the faith, and an uncountable issue of people are once again interested in the message and the person of Jesus.

Bergoglio's simplicity and evangelical style, his preferential option for the poor and his determination to show a merciful, missionary and "going out" Church, have achieved the so-called "Francis effect" throughout the world. Even in places where Christians are a minority, such as North Africa or the Far East, his gestures are followed with attention. As Santiago Agrelo, Archbishop of Tangier, said: "his words touch the hearts of those who believe and those who do not believe". Being Catholic is "back in fashion", say the Romans themselves with their usual irony and skepticism.

Cases of pederasty

Francis is carrying out the reform of the curia in the eternal city, which must be followed by dioceses around the world. In these four years he has strengthened control over pederasty cases and over Vatican finances. He has therefore promoted a reform that is a cleanup. To help him in this task he created a committee of cardinals with nine cardinals from the five continents. It was necessary to intervene urgently. He expressed his vision of the Church with one of his happy images: "like a field hospital after a battle. How useless it is to ask a wounded person if his cholesterol or sugar levels are high! It is necessary to treat the wounds. We'll talk about the rest later.

Francis has emerged in these four years as an undisputed spiritual leader, looked upon with sympathy also by other Christians such as Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants. And also by non-believers. This good image facilitated, for example, the mediation between Cuba and the United States, achieving the normalization of relations up to that moment. His next hit was the encyclical dedicated to ecology and the environment, possibly published before the middle of the year. Then came the "ecology of love," presented in that impassioned chant graduate Laudato sí. More reform proposals may be forthcoming, especially interior reforms. So stay tuned to your screens.