Pope Francis pens preface of book on St. Paul VI, the “martyr” Pope

By Pope Francis

I am glad that Cardinal Marcello Semeraro has decided to publish the series of homilies he gave on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which is also the anniversary of the passing of Saint Paul VI from "this painful, dramatic and magnificent land", as he called it in his Testament, to the House of the Father. I am also happy that he chose to do so in 2023, the 60th anniversary of the the beginning of Giovanni Battista Montini’s Petrine ministry.

Paul VI! I have often wondered whether this Pope should not be considered a "martyr"! Once, in a private meeting shortly before the beatification of Pope Montini, I also shared this with Bishop Marcello. I asked him, half-jokingly, whether I had to wear red or white liturgical clothes in the rite. He didn't understand me and observed that the colour red was the one prescribed in the funeral rites of the Popes... I explained what I meant and he remained  pensive.

Indeed, on 15 December 1969, on the occasion of the classic exchange of Christmas greetings with the College of Cardinals and the Roman Curia, Paul VI mentioned the fact that Vatican II had “produced a state of attention, and, under certain aspects, of spiritual tension”, including the crisis of many priests. In that context he said: "This is our crown of thorns."

The exhortation to love the Church was among the most frequent and repeated calls in Paul VI’s  magisterium. He considered it as the mirror in which to see Christ, the space in which to meet Christ and this was, for him, the unum necessarium. We all remember his prayer to Christ, the only one necessary! And it is this unique and absolute love for Christ that Cardinal Semeraro intended to underline in his homilies  contextualized in the mystery of the Transfiguration.

Saint Paul VI was the contemplator, the preacher, and the witness of the Transfigured Christ. We could say he wanted to enter that evangelical scene as a companion of the three apostles chosen by Jesus. What's more,  his intimate and secret desire has always been to be "cum ipso in monte" and this made his life itself transfigured.

I am glad these reflections are published, because the figure of Saint Paul VI has always attracted me too. I have already said on another occasion how some of his  speeches - such as those in Manila, in Nazareth... - have given me spiritual strength and have done so much good in my life. It is a known fact that my first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium was intended to be a bit like the other side of the coin of the Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, a pastoral document that I love very much. Everyone, on the other hand, has often heard me repeat the expression that fell into my heart from there: the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing. I repeated it when I was bishop of Buenos Aires and I repeat it today.

The title chosen for this collection draws from a phrase by Fr. Marie-Joseph Le Guillou, a great Dominican theologian that I also appreciate very much. He wrote it in a volume dedicated to the prophetic, spiritual, doctrinal, pastoral and missionary greatness of the Second Vatican Council. From this too, then, I would like to draw inspiration before concluding these lines of presentation. As the 2025 Jubilee event approaches, I have in fact asked everyone to prepare for it by taking up the fundamental texts of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

Now, in that book of his, Fr. Le Guillou describes Vatican II as an act of contemplation of the Face of Christ. The Magisterium of Vatican II must be reread, studied, explored, implemented also in this light. During a meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, I replied to a Jesuit who had asked me how he could help me, saying: “Historians say that it takes 100 years for a Council to be implemented. We're halfway there. Therefore, if you want to help me, act in such a way as to carry forward the Council in the Church."

Contemplate the face of Christ! In Evangelii Gaudium I wrote that every preacher “has to contemplate the Word, but he also has to contemplate his people.” I would like to say that this is also the case with the Synodal Church. A Church that contemplates  the Word and also the holy faithful people of God. I sincerely hope that the reflections written in these pages also encourage this.