FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE: Some leaders divide us with extreme opinions, Pope Francis united us

For a thousand years Francis of Assisi has been probably the most popular saint on Earth, or in Heaven. Yet was the first pope ever to name himself after him. You can see why.

Following in the footsteps of - that’s quite a challenge to set yourself. It wasn’t a challenge he expected to take on. But as soon as it became clear that he would be the next Pope, his friend Cardinal Hummes gave him a hug and whispered “Don’t forget the poor!”

According to Jorge, as soon as he heard that, the name of Francis came into his mind. A few minutes later, he made that name his own.

The original Francis embraced poverty and simplicity. Instead of travelling in papal limousines given to him by a friend.

Instead of living in the gorgeous Vatican apartments he settled down in a simple room in the St Marta guest house.

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Like St Francis he spoke out about the environment. His encyclical on “our sister-mother the Earth” is - unlike a lot of papal documents - a cracking read. Written in the kind of direct, simple, passionate language that would make his namesake proud. But the language he spoke most fluently was the language of action.

You did not need to be able to read to understand what he was saying when he washed the feet of prisoners, or rushed to spend time with asylum seekers and refugees.

You didn’t need to understand politics to grasp the significance of him kissing the feet of Sudan’s warring leaders, or the fact that he face-timed the children who were trapped in the compound of the Church of the Holy Family Gaza. He did this every day, including Easter Sunday - the day before he died. A true papa.

The message was simple - that love and mercy always come first. Preach, preach, preach - said St Francis - and only in the very last resort, use words. When great leaders die, we often list their best quotes. In Pope Francis obituaries it will not be his best words, but his actions that we’ll remember.

His greatest sermon was his life. He walked the walk. Perhaps his most Franciscan quality was his lightness of heart. He loved to laugh, joke and connect with people. If you included your phone number when you wrote to him, he would try to find time to call you. One of my own favourite moments is when he rang a convent and got no answer. He left a message. “What are you nuns up to that you’re too busy to speak to me? This is the Pope. Catch you later.”

This is why this feels like such a loss. Because we knew him best not through his words but through his whole self. In an age when leaders seek to rule by dividing us with ever more extreme opinions, he united us by sharing us his own - flawed but always striving - humanity.

* Frank Cottrell Boyce was born in Liverpool and is proud Catholic. He is the current Children's Laureate and has been known to feature saints and religious characters in his celebrated children's books, including the Carnegie Medal-winning Millions: The Not-So Great Train Robbery. He's also an award-winning TV and film screenwriter with credits as diverse as The London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Doctor Who, Woody Harrelson's Welcome to Sarajevo, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Netflix's The Beautiful Game and Colin Firth's The Railway Man.