God’s Spy

Malcolm Moore reports this morning in the London Telegraph on Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to the tomb of St. Francis, and Gorbachev’s public confession of Christian faith. Moore writes in part:

“Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

” Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb. His arrival in Assisi was described as ‘spiritual perestroika’ by La Stampa, the Italian newspaper.

“‘St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ,’ said Mr Gorbachev. ‘His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role in my life,’ he added.

“Mr Gorbachev’s surprise visit confirmed decades of rumours that, although he was forced to publicly pronounce himself an atheist, he was in fact a Christian, and casts a meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1989 in a new light.

“Mr Gorbachev, 77, was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church and his parents were Christians.

“In addition, the parents of his wife Raisa were deeply religious and were killed during the Second World War for having religious icons in their home.”

Moore reports that Ronald Reagan suspected as much, telling aids that Gorbachev was a “closet Christian.”

And he adds: “‘It was through St Francis that I arrived at the Church, so it was important that I came to visit his tomb,’ said Mr Gorbachev.

“‘I feel very emotional to be here at such an important place not only for the Catholic faith, but for all humanity.’ He also asked the monks for theological books to help him understand St Francis’s life.”

Rosenstock-Huessy says that when Lincoln walked into Richmond after the North won the Civil War, it was a sign of the triumph of St. Francis, a manifestation of a Franciscan politics unknown outside of Christianity. Gorbachev provides another example: Thou hast triumphed, pale Assisian.