Fr John on his way to St. Peter’s Square in the company of a fellow pilgrim. Photo: Fr John Boles SSC
In May 2025, my good friends and long-time Columban supporters, Dave and Sue, invited me to join them on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. We settled on 8th May—unbeknownst to us, the same day Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV. By the time the world learned the news, we were already en route to Rome.
As we stood in St. Peter’s Square awaiting the new Pope’s first Sunday blessing, I reflected on how often Columbans have anticipated papal themes and actions. Pope Francis is a prime example. His 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ powerfully linked environmental and social care as moral imperatives. Yet over two decades earlier, Columban missionary Fr. Sean McDonagh had laid similar foundations in his book The Greening of the Church (1990).
Francis also championed lay involvement and inclusivity in Church life, leading to the 2023–25 Synodal process. But long before this, I had witnessed Columbans fostering lay leadership in Peru, where I served from 1994. The local sentiment was often, “You Columbans - you were Francis before Francis!”.
Interestingly, Pope Leo XIV had also been a missionary in Peru at the same time I was. That shared connection made it more meaningful when, on 10th May, we visited the tomb of Pope Francis at Santa Maria Maggiore - just 40 minutes before the new Pope arrived to do the same.
At the tomb of the Pope Francis. Photo: Fr John Boles SSC
Our pilgrimage continued to Assisi, the home of St. Francis, where we joined other pilgrims in prayer at the tombs of St. Francis, St. Clare, and Blessed Carlo Acutis. Carlo, a young tech-savvy catechist, used the internet to spread the faith and created a website on Eucharistic miracles before dying of leukaemia at 15. He was beatified in 2020 and was due to be canonised during the Jubilee of Teens in April 2025 - until the death of Pope Francis caused a postponement.
In Assisi, we met a volunteer guide who spoke of the anticipation around the new Pope’s future visit and the rescheduled canonisation. Once again, it seemed the Columbans had arrived just before the Pope.
Reflecting on this journey, it’s clear that the Columban Missionaries have long been in step with papal priorities, often years in advance. Whether through care for creation, lay empowerment, or faith in dialogue with modern life, we’ve often found ourselves aligned with Rome’s vision, and occasionally, a step ahead.
Columban Fr John Boles is the Director of the Region of Britain.
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin.
Comments (0)