Just a few days after his March 13 election, Pope Francis told Italian pilgrims during his Sunday Angelus address that choosing St. Francis as his papal name “reinforces my spiritual tie with this land, where — as you know — my family origins lie.” St. Francis is the patron saint of Italy, and the pope’s maternal and paternal grandparents were born in Italy and later emigrated to Argentina.
Septemba, 2015 wakati wa Uchaguzi Mkuu, Dk. Slaa alijiweka kando na siasa, kwa kile alichokieleza kutofautiana na viongozi wenzake ndani ya chama chake juu ya masharti ya kumpokea aliyekuwa mgombea urais wa Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi (Ukawa), Edward Lowassa. “Sina tabia ya kuyumbishwa…sina chuki na mtu yeyote, sipendi siasa za udanganyifu na propaganda.