Events

Young South Australians fortunate enough to have met Pope Francis are counting their blessings for an encounter they’ll never forget.

Among them is Catherine Edwards, a Mercedes College old scholar turned Adelaide lawyer who has been campaigning at a global level against human trafficking. Catherine featured in the April edition The Southern Cross after returning from Rome where she had an audience with Pope Francis who met with a delegation of young people gathering for the Week of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking.

“It’s hard to put into words what Pope Francis’s passing has meant,” Catherine told The Southern Cross. “Since meeting him in February, I found myself constantly checking for updates on his health. I hadn’t realised until I saw the news that the footage showing his final public appearances before going to hospital was of our group. It doesn’t feel real that he was admitted just after our meeting. It’s not something I ever could have imagined, and I feel incredibly honoured to have crossed paths with him at that moment.”

Catherine followed each update closely. “Even in his final week, he continued to give everything he could,” she said. “He visited people in prison, called for peace, and blessed the crowds on Easter Sunday. It was clear how much effort it took, but he never stopped showing up for others. Right to the end, he was living out the values he had always stood for.”

The young lawyer, who helped establish Adelaide-based youth social justice group Young Mercy Links, said she was struck by deeply genuine Pope Francis was.

“He lived the way he spoke. He was humble, kind, and grounded. He didn’t lead through power or status, but through conviction and a deep commitment to compassion, justice, and the dignity of every person. His vision for the Church was clear in the way he lived, and I feel truly honoured to have seen that example firsthand.”

She said it is incredibly sad to lose someone who led with such heart.

“Pope Francis didn’t just talk about compassion and justice. He lived them, right to the very end. His dedication, especially in his final days, is what made him so remarkable. I feel very lucky to have met him, and deeply grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”

Meanwhile, Adelaide Catholic youth leader Maddy Forde also had the privilege of meeting Pope Francis in Rome in November 2023 with the Vatican’s Youth Advisory Body.
She said news of the Pope’s death was bittersweet.

“Selfishly, I feel the love we have for Pope Francis and for the change he’s led in the Church with his authentic and grounded spirit, is something we wanted to hold on to for as long as we could,” Maddy said. “Pope Francis was a truly profound embodiment of God’s love in physical form, and he made religion and faith so. He truly felt like a family member. I also hold gratitude that he was called home without suffering. Thus, it’s bittersweet.”

Maddy was profoundly moved by the Pope’s mission and his legacy of listening, as an authentic witness to people, of inclusion, and as a voice for the voiceless (“especially our Earth”) and love.

“His legacy, and his place in history into the future, gives me tremendous hope,” she said. “I hold special gratitude and hope for the love he showed to the youth, believing that young people are capable of being protagonists and agents of change in our society. I will forever be thankful for his courage, his conviction, and his listening – as someone who lived in love and service.”

The way Pope Francis lived will continue to impact the way Maddy moves through the world. “And how I encounter people, especially our young people who hold so much more value and wisdom as people, rather than just being recognised for their young wisdom.”

The way Pope Francis spent his final hours is meaningful to Maddy, especially knowing how unwell he was.

“His intention in his appearances, his time, his energy – he gave all of himself,” she said. “His final moments were with people who were important to him. It was always about people, which reminds me of a Maori proverb I hold close to my own mission: ‘What is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, he tanata. It is the people, it is the people, it is the people’.”

Picture: Maddie Forde (pictured right) met Pope Francis in Rome in November 2023; Catherine Edwards (on front) meets the Pope just days before he was admitted to hospital. Picture: ©Vatican Media

The Southern Cross May 2025