Pope Francis has gone to US, but he won’t be dining with mighty

Pope Francis, who is touring the United States, has rejected a lunch date with Washington politicos to share a meal with 300 homeless people. And it is he who will be serving them.

While many see this as a reminder of the tenets of Christianity, such as charity for the poor, it also reminds us why Pope Francis is so popular across the world. He speaks truth to power in ways few can manage.

It is not clear if any of the politicians who had offered lunch will be accompanying him to the streets to feed the homeless, but it is a safe bet most will be keeping their distance, just as many did when Pope Francis rode from the airport in a tiny Fiat, surrounded by monsters of fine rides, big as the American dream.

Which calls to mind a local church leader who had a fundraiser organised to buy him a limo. Yet, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, as sculptor Elimo Njau reminds in a piece at Paa ya Paa, he rode on a donkey to show his humility.

In a showy world where image is flaunted as everything, humility is an attribute rarely displayed, or even applauded, which is why the pontiff has done such a great job to remind the world of this great virtue.