‘He was like a father to me’

“Benedict was a man of great gentleness. In some cases, people took advantage of him, perhaps without malice, and limited his movements. Unfortunately, in a certain sense, they were encircling him. He was a very delicate man, but he was not weak: he was strong. But he was humble, and preferred not to impose. So he suffered a lot”. That’s how Pope Francis remembers his predecessor Pope Benedict xvi , in a new interview book with journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal (“The Successor”), which was released on Wednesday, 3 April. “He let me grow”, explains the Pope, “he was patient. And if he didn’t agree with something, he would think three or four times before telling me. He let me grow and gave me the freedom to make decisions”. In the book, the Pope also remembers the circumstances of his farewell to Benedict, on Wednesday, 28 ...