The cardinal of Ajaccio, where Pope Francis visited in December 2024, talks about hope, the Pope, and a wave of new conversions and adult baptisms.Lenten Campaign 2025
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“The papacy is a function, but too often we forget the man,” said Cardinal François Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio, France, in an interview with I.MEDIA during Holy Week. Cardinal Bustillo’s diocese is the last one Francis visited before his most recent health crisis. The cardinal salutes Pope Francis’ “constancy” in the face of the ordeal of illness, and emphasizes the importance of cultivating hope, despite the concerns raised by current events.
The hope of the resurrection
I.MEDIA: Holy Week, the heart of the liturgical year, is being celebrated this year in an exceptional context: the Jubilee of Hope instituted by Pope Francis. Current events do not seem conducive to hope: international tensions surrounding the tariffs introduced by Donald Trump, the prolongation of numerous wars (particularly in Ukraine and the Holy Land), inaction on the ecological front, the risks involved in artificial intelligence... What can help us not to despair?
Cardinal François Bustillo: You’re right: our society is lacking in hope and produces an excess of fear, of anxiety for the future. In such a dark landscape, it’s essential to continue to believe and to hope — not to live in illusion, but because, as the prologue of the Gospel according to St. John says, “the light shines in the darkness.” A Christian cannot give in to despair.
Three months ago, I spoke with young people during a trip to Normandy, and what struck me was their concern about the future. My generation studied, trained, and wanted to change the world. It was full of dreams and ideas. Today, many young people are afraid. Geopolitical events, the economic crisis, and the ecological crisis, but also a certain lack of values, lead them to ask themselves, “Where are we going?”
The more the world is worried – as it is today – the more Christians must draw on their faith, and remember that they are children of the resurrection, especially as Easter approaches. Death does not have the last word: on Good Friday, Jesus goes through death, but he doesn’t remain in death — he is resurrected. That is why a Christian must always live in hope.
Remember: the pope is human
During this Holy Week, all eyes are on Rome, due to the state of health of Pope Francis, who was hospitalized for almost 40 days and is now required to take a long period of rest. Have you had any contact with him or with those around him? How do you perceive this ordeal he’s going through?
Cardinal Bustillo: I haven’t had any contact with him. It’s important to respect the physical reality of a sick, elderly, and tired person. The papacy is a function, but too often we forget the man. Each of us is a body, limited in space and time: We are neither machines nor supermen.
What particularly touches me about Pope Francis is the way he’s living through this time of trial, without being able to give himself 100%, with great humility. He’s staying put, continuing, with constancy and perseverance. I understand that some people may be frustrated at not seeing or hearing more from him, especially during this Jubilee period and as Holy Week approaches.
But despite his illness, the Church continues on its way, in the dioceses as well as in Rome. We must continue to include this weakened pastor in our prayers, hoping — as we would for a member of our family — that he will regain his health and independence.
A changing pontificate
In recent years, the Pope has distinguished himself by his sense of closeness to others, by his taste for human contact, but the illness now is forcing him to withdraw and limit his meetings. How do you see the rest of his pontificate?
Cardinal Bustillo: It's a situation that all people in positions of responsibility experience when they fall ill, whether they are popes, bishops, priests, or others. The pope is now enjoying a quieter period. But what a life he has led in recent years! I saw him in December, when he came to Corsica: He never stopped receiving people, meeting and talking. He gave his all, to the point of exhaustion. Today, it’s normal for his governance to adapt to his abilities and availability.
It’s true that Pope Francis is known for his closeness to people. I’m sure that he’s suffering because he can’t be available to others, and that he sees it as a sacrifice for the good of the Church.
Should we see his choice to continue to honor his mission despite his great age and suffering as a testimony to a different way of thinking about power?
Cardinal Bustillo: Absolutely. In our Western societies, efficiency and performance are held up as supreme values, and there’s a tendency to exclude those who are frail, elderly, or sick, because they’re considered to be underperforming. The Pope, on the other hand, offers a counter-example: he pursues his mission without concealing his vulnerability. In our society, as soon as we have a problem, we give up; he continues. It’s a powerful testimony, a lesson in hope for our troubled times.
Analyzing conversions today
During the Easter Vigil, more than 10,000 catechumens and 7,400 teenagers will be baptized in France, which confirms the trend of previous years. How do you analyze this phenomenon?
Cardinal Bustillo: Our society is very materialistic, and, as we said earlier, it is marked by a certain despair. The political world, the economic sphere, the state of the planet, the violence in our societies, all of these things worry us. In the face of this, there is a quest for spiritual values and points of reference. While we tend to be obsessed with “doing,” “having,” or “knowing,” today we realize that it’s necessary to take care of “being.” And we Christians offer a stability and an inner strength that stands out, particularly in a society torn by its anxieties.
That is why many young people who have grown up in contexts that are sometimes distant, indifferent, and even hostile to the Church are returning to it today. In Corsica, we’re going to have 225 adult baptisms on Easter night: That’s a lot for our island [which has less than 350,000 inhabitants, editor's note]! We also saw a lot of young people on Ash Wednesday.
And this is a sign that can be seen a little bit everywhere in France. Young people remember that their grandmother and grandfather used to say the rosary and go to Mass every Sunday, and they’re asking themselves questions. They live in spiritual limbo and come to us to find an identity.
It’s a path of their own making: it’s not our communications services that should be credited with these conversions. We aren’t conducting a seduction campaign. Things work differently: young people come on their own today, often after having seen videos on TikTok, for example, and this motivates them to come and attend Mass, to observe Lent, to prepare for Easter.
We’re experiencing a new missionary phase. Young people are waking up, and they’re waking us up too. It’s up to us to pass on the best of the Gospel to them. Because while many know about the Church and how it works, few know about Jesus.
The influence of the Pope
Do you think that the unique pontificate of Francis has fostered this kind of conversion?
Cardinal Bustillo: Yes, I think so. I can see it in Corsica since his visit on December 15th: requests for baptism have multiplied. What’s touching about him isn’t his great speeches, but his presence. He’s there, with the people, in the streets, at every moment. His fraternal spontaneity and kindness have done people good. Our times need this kind of concrete testimony.
What hopes does this historic visit raise for you and the Corsican people?
Cardinal Bustillo: This trip was marked by the Pope's simplicity and closeness to the people, and by a profoundly festive day. Corsica, as we know, can be violent. But during this visit, the Corsicans gave the best of themselves. They always do when they’re at peace.
During the Mass on December 15, I said that the anointing that the Pope leaves in Corsica is this benevolence, this encouragement addressed to all — young people, adults, the elderly — to rediscover a family spirit. In a family, there’s peace, joy, and hope.
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, we must spread hope so that it touches everyone. Dante, on the threshold of Hell, wrote: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” Hell is where hope is absent. But where hope is born, life, desire, and the future are reborn.
