Although French is officially my first language it’s fair to say that with a father who couldn’t speak English and a mother who couldn’t speak French, I grew up functionally bilingual.

Both times that I’ve been struck by a careless driver someone came forward to say, “I’ve got your back. I saw what happened.” I felt such gratitude that someone I didn’t know wanted to help. The parable of the Good Samaritan came to mind.

Such is the somewhat charmed life of an academic that we have the opportunity to join a platform party and watch the excitement—sometimes the outright terror—of our students as they reach a critical milestone that is shared with family, friends and the community at large.

Habemus Papam! We have a new pope. Can there be any phrase more joyful to the Catholic ear? And now all eyes will be on him, watching and waiting to see the direction this new successor to Peter will take.

Pope Francis’ time as leader of the Catholic church was striking for his humility, compassion, commitment to the poor, and leadership on international concerns. His encyclicals advocated for care and generosity, for our fellow citizens, for our environment, and for the common good. He travelled to some of the most troubled spaces on the planet, including a ground-breaking visit to Canada to issue a long-awaited papal apology to Indigenous peoples on Canadian soil.

Jesus led by example, and in his early ministry delivered miracles to assure and embrace his followers. He also reminded us we needed to trust in His authenticity, and to model His goodness of heart to celebrate the dignity of our fellow citizens.

As far as I can remember, I am not at all forgetful. Nevertheless, I have dozens of notepads everywhere: at home, in my car and at work. Whenever I have a thought about something that needs to be done, I jot it down urgently.

Despite being a word nerd, I was never drawn to crossword puzzles—until recently. My daughter introduced me to The New York Times Wordle game, which in turn led me to what was, I hoped, a healthy interest in their apparently famous crossword.

My last job in Australia before I returned to Canada was at a Catholic university in the very heart of Sydney. Much like my current Corpus Christi College campus here in Vancouver, it had a small but dynamic parish.

The dismissive labeling of the difficult work we do as “soft” is patronizing when used by those outside the humanities and social sciences. It reflects an inferiority complex, and a deep devaluing of these skills by those who want to champion them.