MUMBAI, India – Cardinal Oswald Gracias says Pope Francis was “a person of deep faith, of prayer.”

Gracias was the archbishop of Bombay until the pope accepted his retirement earlier this year.

The cardinal spoke to Crux after learning about the death of Francis on Monday.

“The Holy Spirit sends us the leader that we need at different times,” Gracias said.

“When Pope Francis began the Papacy all of us did not know what to expect as he was not much known outside of Rome, not even in Rome with the Curia. But as I look back at these last twelve years – what an impact he has made on the Church and on the world,” he added.

Gracias has been one of Pope Francis’s closest advisors, having been a member of the Council of Cardinals since it began in 2013.

“I felt that Pope Francis was a person of deep faith, of prayer,” he told Crux.

“He has been fearless and courageous. When you look at the world scene, I think he has maintained the integrity of the Gospel. He preached the Gospel undiluted. He has been faithful to what he sees in prayer. He was not a respecter of popular opinion. It was just what the Church has got to do,” the cardinal said.

Gracias told Crux he thought Francis took all his decisions in prayer.

“For me, as I look back again, I see more and more that it has been a great learning experience to be working with him. To see a person who is so committed and fearless and true to the Gospel,” he said.

The cardinal said the pope listened to all of the members during our frequent meetings of the Council of Cardinals.

“We must have had at least fifty meetings with him of three days each where we had intense meetings discussing an agenda which he had prepared. He would say that he wants to be present with us, to discuss, to differ and to argue,” Gracias explained.

“But in the end, he would decide, and he would be in the driving seat. He knew what needed to be done. I think we felt so close to each other and knew that ultimately it would be his decision which he saw in prayer,” he said.

Gracias also revealed Francis was aware of the many dangers to his life with threats made against him.

“He would say ‘why be afraid of death?’ ‘The Lord needs me here, the Lord wants me here and the moment the Lord does not want me he will take me away’, that was his attitude,” he said.

The cardinal said Francis had a compassionate heart to those in need.

“He did not want the Church to be a castle protecting itself but always reaching out to those in need,” Gracias told Crux. “He consistently tried to see what our Lord would have wanted of the Church today.”

The cardinal said that in one of their discussions he asked him about synodality and what exactly his vision was.

“He turned to me and said ‘Cardinal, I think Jesus wants the Church to be synodal today. This is what our Lord wants, His mandate and therefore we must work towards it.’ This has been his consistent attitude,” he said.

“I know there’s criticism and I often said what are the reasons why some people don’t agree with this. He would smile. I sometimes think there is no reason but just different personalities and different perceptions,” Gracias said.