By: Hafizur Rahman, Camp Correspondent
April 23, 2025 |
Pope Francis, the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church and one of the most beloved moral voices of the 21st century, died at 88. The Vatican confirmed that he passed peacefully following a stroke and cardiac arrest. His death marks the end of a transformative papacy that spanned over a decade and touched countless lives, especially among the poor, displaced, and forgotten.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was the first Jesuit pope, the first from Latin America, and the first to take the name “Francis,” symbolizing humility and care for the marginalized. Throughout his leadership since 2013, he chose simplicity over grandeur, solidarity over distance, and mercy over politics.
His Legacy Among the Rohingya
While tributes poured in from world leaders and churches around the globe, the memory of Pope Francis holds a deeply personal place among the Rohingya people—particularly those exiled in Bangladesh.
“As a people who have long walked through the shadows of suffering and exile, we, the Rohingya Christian Community, received in Pope Francis a radiant light of compassion and understanding… That single gesture breathed life into our weary souls,” the Rohingya Christian Community in Bangladesh said in a moving statement, recalling the Pope’s historic 2017 visit to Dhaka.
During that visit, Pope Francis met a group of Rohingya refugees face to face, listened to their pain, called them by name, and publicly acknowledged their suffering—a moment no other global religious leader had taken at the time.
“He did not turn his gaze away from our pain but met us with the eyes of Christ,” the statement continued. “In Pope Francis, we saw not only the head of the Catholic Church, but a father to the fatherless, a voice for the voiceless, and a tireless shepherd for all of God’s scattered children.”
“He Stood With Us When the World Turned Away”
Badrul, an elder from the Rohingya Christian community, shared:
“His visit was a moment of grace. We were suffering and invisible. He made us seen. That memory still warms our hearts.”
Similarly, Nurul Islam, Chair of the Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA), recalled:
“We will never forget how Pope Francis, during his historic visit to Bangladesh, urged world leaders to take decisive action for the Rohingya and praised the generosity of the host communities who received us.”
A Humble Farewell to a Humble Soul
True to his wishes, Pope Francis was laid to rest in a plain wooden coffin, free from gold or marble. The funeral was held at the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, a place where he often prayed alone for the poor and displaced.
On April 26, leaders from around the world gathered at the Vatican to honor his life. Meanwhile, memorial masses were held quietly in refugee camps in Bangladesh, where many Rohingya Christians and Muslims alike offered prayers for a man they saw as a rare voice of truth.
A Legacy of Moral Courage
Pope Francis will be remembered not only as a religious leader but as a global conscience. He fought for climate justice, refugee protection, interfaith understanding, and economic dignity—and did so not from a throne, but from the streets.
For the Rohingya and other stateless peoples, he represented something the world often failed to offer: recognition, respect, and reassurance that their pain mattered.
His voice may be gone, but his message continues:
“The future is built not on exclusion, but on encounter,” he once said.
May that spirit of encounter live on in every corner of the world still waiting to be seen.
