(Hill) – Former President Barack Obama on Monday praised the late Pope Francis for inspiring Catholics and non-Catholics as well as “want to be a better person.”
“Pope Francis was a rare leader who wanted us to be better people,” Obama wrote in a post about Francis’s afterlife early Monday.
“In his humility and his gestures, embracing illness, serving the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us from our complacency, reminding us that we are bound by God and each other’s moral duties,” he continued.
“Today, Michelle and I are grieving with everyone in the world, both Catholic and non-Catholic, who drew strength and inspiration from the example of the Pope,” Obama added. “May we continue to pay attention to his call to never remain on the bystanders of this living march of hope.”
Francis was elected Pope in 2013 during Obama’s second term. Obama met with the Pope at the Vatican in March 2014. The following year, the Pope visited the United States, was welcomed at a formal ceremony at the White House, and met Obama personally.
Francis passed away on Monday in 1988 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, Vatican, after battling a long series of health complications derived from chronic lung disease, the Vatican announced.
The bishop was hospitalized with bronchitis on February 14th, and suffered from pneumonia four days later, and was listed as “crisis” by the Vatican on February 22nd. He never recovered completely.
Born in Argentina in 1936 to Jorge Mario Bergolio, the Pope broke barriers in the Catholic Church when he became the first leader of the Vatican province from the Americas, and became the first to represent the Jesuit order known for his commitment to social justice. He was known for his human rights defense.
