Is it possible to describe Pope Francis in a single word? I will try to suggest one: the pope of patience. Young people, he recognizes, rightly feel the need to change the world. But, very quickly, as they grow up, they discover that this objective is unattainable if they are in a hurry. It can only be done with patience. This is something that parents know well when they understand that, beyond giving a model of life to their children, they must just learn to wait until the child makes his or her own life and, if need be, his or her own mistakes.
The pope speaks of a kite, which begins to tremble. At that point, instinct would make you pull the cord, to take back control. But that would be a mistake. When the kite “wags its tail,” you must give—let it have its way; you must set it free (without abandoning it), you must give it time. We could call it the Gospel of Patience.
— from the book Pope Francis Takes the Bus, and Other Unexpected Stories by Rosario Carello
