Pope Francis

A hero is not a supernatural person with extraordinary power, but a person who is courageous and able to do anything for anyone at anytime. A hero should always do good for other people and think of others before himself or herself. My hero is Pope Francis, also known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio before he was ordained a priest. He is my hero because he does things that are good for others before thinking of himself. Many times this requires him to be courageous and do things others would think risky. For example, Pope Francis sneaks out of the Vatican many times to feed the poor. He is courageous as the officials in the Vatican would consider this a possible danger. Through his actions and words, Pope Francis has shown he is determined to help end the poverty in our society and renew our community purpose of helping others. He is a hero because he thinks of others before himself as he helps many poor people who are suffering.

Pope Francis is the 266th reigning pope of the Catholic Church, which also makes him both Bishop of Rome and Absolute Sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is a poor country. Growing up in a suffering community, he wanted to do good for others. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 28, 2013, he was elected pope on March 13, 2013. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, the environment, and the poor. Since he was elected pope, Pope Francis has dedicated the papacy to the causes of economic behavior and peace. He has visited several impoverished communities, showing love for the poor and showing us that we should take them in with love and comfort. He has helped those who most of us do not think about in our everyday lives, and he has shown us that we can do good for them. This courageous hands-on example is different from previous popes who were not as present in the poor areas.

Pope Francis has dedicated his papacy, so far, to helping the poor, sick, and disabled, and showing us to take them in. One example of this is when he auctioned off his own motorcycle to help benefit the homeless. Another example was that instead of the Vatican employees getting bonuses when Pope Francis was elected pope, the money was redirected to charity. When it was Pope Francis' birthday, he did not want a large and expensive party, but a small one that would do some benefit. He invited a group of homeless men and their dogs to his own birthday meal. Pope Francis has also washed the feet of diseased and disabled people. Pope Francis has helped many of the poor during his short time as pope and has urged the whole Catholic Church to focus on helping the poor.

Pope Francis is important to me because he has dedicated much of his time to helping others. He has shown me through his actions to do good for those who do not have as much. He has shown me to not to be lazy or afraid, but I should take care of the poor as if they were my own friends and family. He has encouraged me to share my time with the people who are struggling to survive every day. At Christmas I participated in buying gifts for needy families in order to help do something about it. Pope Francis has encouraged me to help at the local soup kitchens to feed the hungry. He has also encouraged me to give some of my own money to the poor. I have also been involved in a youth group and that has helped me to give more of my time to helping others.

Pope Francis blessing the disabled (www.bbc.com (BBC News))

As you can see, Pope Francis has been a very inspirational person to me and many other people around the world. He has spent much of his time caring for others more than caring for himself. He has shown by his own actions that he is able to do anything for anyone at anytime and that he is willing and able to help those who are suffering today in our world. A hero is not a person who can do amazing feats like fly or lift a building up like in the movies we see today. A hero is a person who does any good deed for others and encourages other people around them to do good for others as well. I believe Pope Francis has shown these actions and encouraged others to do the same thing during his time as pope. This is why he is my hero.

Bibliography:

Pygas, Mark. "I Knew Pope Francis Was Good, But When I Found Out Everything He Did in 2013, I Was Blown Away." Distractify. 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. http:news.distractify.com/people/reasons-why-pope-francis-is-the-person-of-the-year

Chafee, Lincoln D. "Pope Francis Inspires Us to Do More Good - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/30/opinion/chafee-pope-francis.