Francis does it again

In the never ending (it seems) book on how to be a great pope (which I've never seen too many chapters of, by the way), Francis has contributed again. This time he has announced plans to build showers for the homeless.

And he's building them under the white colonnade of St. Peter's Square. Three showers are to be built into the refurbished public restrooms that are provided for pilgrims along the marble columns leading into the basilica. Catholics have had some time to ponder this, since the basilica was finished in 1626.

I don't want to go on an on about Pope Francis, but goodness this man, this leader, has called his shots, thus far. The first Jesuit to become Pope, Francis is in the process of showing us all what it means to be a religious leader.

His reputation has begun to proceed him. He has a penchant for austerity and humility unlike any other pope. Heck, his love of austerity is unlike most other people. So much so that when he is welcomed later this month by Turkey president Tayyip Erdogan, already Turkish architects have written to him asking him not to stay at the new 1,000-room palace in Ankara. And they have a reasonable expectation that the pope might try to stay elsewhere rather than the opulent palace.

Who else could we ever say that about?

Look, these people travel in different circles than most of us will ever do. Still, who but Francis has ever done things the way he has done them? The list is incredibly short if not singular.

Why is this important?

Because Christ said it was. His testimony was one of a person who cared for the poor, who told us to care for the poor, and who built a ministry designed to feed, clothe and house the poor. Francis is doing all that, and more. The incredible beauty of St. Peter's Square is suddenly being matched or exceeded by the beauty of the gestures of the one in charge. No one dreamed that would be possible. It not only is possible, it is happening. Incredibly, without the religion news service, one might not even know it was happening, at all.

That's as beautiful as the gesture itself.