Denver Newsroom, Jun 27, 2021 / 10:57 am
In a personal letter sent to Fr. James Martin SJ dated June 21, Pope Francis expressed support for his controversial ministry and encouraged him to "continue this way."
The letter, handwritten in Spanish, was a note of thanks for pictures Fr. Martin had sent to the pope, and was first reported in Italian by Vatican News before being shared by Fr. Martin on his Twitter account; Fr. Martin included an unofficial translation of the letter into English.
According to Fr. Martin's Twitter account, "the photos that he [Pope Francis] mentions are of my nephew's Confirmation Mass last weekend. He [Fr. Martin’s nephew] also wore socks with Francis's image on them."
The Pope thanked Fr. Martin for the letter, and said that the picture of the socks "made me laugh."