Thank you, Pope Francis, for 12 years and counting of being our shepherd!

I remember where I was 12 years ago today. It was the middle of the day, and I was in the tv room at home for some reason, with the television on, which was unusual because I rarely watched it. CNN was on, and they announced that a new Pope had been chosen. I remember feeling underwhelmed. Even though we had arrived at this papal election by an unusual route--Pope Benedict's resignation--I thought it would probably be the same old thing. Pope Benedict was a fine scholar, who was the chair of the committee that wrote the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but I'm not sure he ever wanted to be Pope.

Anyway, my expectations were pretty low but I thought I'd watch to see who the new Bishop of Rome would be. Almost immediately, I was surprised. I don't remember them saying his name, but they reported that the new pope was the first from South America. That got my attention. Then, they said that he was a Jesuit and that there had never been a Jesuit pope. Now, I was really sitting up straight. Then they said he's taking the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, one of the humblest of saints, and no pope had ever selected that name. At that point, I started to cry.

For the past 12 years, Pope Francis' welcoming, compassionate presence, example and leadership has been a balm to the world, to the Church, and to me. I am glad that it seems we will have him for a while longer. Here are few things that I think about on the 12th anniversary of his selection:

When he asked his priests to "be shepherds with the smell of sheep." From then on, when referring to someone who was really doing the work of trying to help people who are poor, John and I would say they smell like sheep.

When he washed the feet of migrants and women in prison.

His encyclicals, exhortations, and letters, including Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home), Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), and On the Role of Literature in Formation.

When he said of those in prison and I'm paraphrasing here but, "There but for the grace of God go I."

When he came to the United States and spoke in front of Congress. He mentioned Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton. While in the United States he said, "I ask you all please to pray for me and if there are any among you who don't believe or cannot pray, I ask you please to send good wishes my way."

His unwavering support for the most vulnerable including the unborn, children, the disabled, the imprisoned, those living in war torn countries, the poor, and migrants.

Living in a humble fashion

His smile

Perhaps it was a coincidence (or perhaps not) but about the same time that Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope, I became more involved in Jesuit spirituality. I had read a couple of books by Fr. James Martin and had started going on Jesuit retreats. At one of these retreats, I was introduced to Mary, Undoer of Knots, to whom Pope Francis has a special devotion. Knots seems like such an accurate description of the circumstances of life sometime. I immediately loved this notion of Mary as being the undoer of these knots that we (or others) can make in our lives. I'll close with a prayer to her and also great gratitude to God for the gift of Pope Francis