--- description: The Pope mentioned the former United Nations Secretary-General by name title: Why Pope Francis Praised Dag Hammarskjöld image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95e02fbe2bc1dae9/69886577e20a87ed76a8d773/dag.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [faith](/tag/faith/) ## faith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Pope Francis Praised Dag Hammarskjöld  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 25, 2015 3:10 PM CUT  Dag Hammarskjold in 1955 Dag Hammarskjold in 1955Ullstein bild / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 25, 2015 3:10 PM CUT In [his speech at the United Nations](http://time.com/4049905/pope-francis-us-visit-united-nations-speech-transcript/ "undefined") Friday morning, Pope Francis turned again and again to the international organization’s hitting its 70th anniversary and its long history of attempting to work toward peace. And, though that history stretches over many decades, there was one former U.N. Secretary-General who the Pope called out by name: Dag Hammarskjöld, who held the position in the 1950s. As the Pope explained, he gave his life “for peace and reconciliation among peoples.” So what happened to Hammarskjöld? The Swedish-born diplomat, who became Secretary-General in 1953, was killed in a plane accident in Africa, while visiting the Congo for a peace mission. The occasion for the visit was the political crisis in the Congo that had begun the year before. After the African nation gained its independence from Belgium, war erupted over who would lead the nation, as Cold War-era proxy fighting drew the world’s eyes to its future. U.N. peacekeepers were involved to an extent that the organization had never before seen, as they tried to prevent full scale civil war. In the relatively early days of the operation, in September of 1961, Hammarskjöld flew to Léopoldville to personally check out what was going on. Though war seemed imminent, the accomplished diplomat managed to convince the leaders on the two sides to discuss a ceasefire. He would personally lead the meeting, even though its location, in the city of Ndola, meant that his plane would have to cross dangerous territory. Though precautions were taken, Hammarskjöld never arrived at his destination. In the confusion that followed, it took nine hours for a search party to go out. Late in the afternoon after he was scheduled to get to Ndola, his plane was found, crashed, in a forest mere miles from the airport. There was only one survivor, a security guard who died a few days later. Though it was suspected that the crash was the work of a well-known partisan, authorities soon concluded that Hammarskjöld’s plane had probably malfunctioned, though it would remain impossible to say for sure. ### Selfies of People Celebrating Pope Francis's Journey Across the U.S.  Enija Davidonyte posted this Pontiff snapshot on Facebook. Enija Davidonyte  Arturas Vorobjovas posted from Washington, D.C. saying "He will never forget this moment." dzipasdc (@dzipasdc) via Instagram  Marian Burrows shared this from Washington, D.C., snap, with a playful caption: "Photobomb by The Holy Father, Pope Francis." marbfit\_4 (@marbfit\_4 ) via Instagram  Phillip G. Joseph posted from Washington, D.C., saying "#Blessed" philipgjoseph (@philipgjoseph ) via Instagram  Cathy McMorris posted from Washington, D.C. saying "It was great to see the #PopeinDC this morning!" cathymcmorris(@cathymcmorris) via Instagram  James Akers Jr. posted from Washington, D.C.: "Technically a #popeselfie" jamesakersjr (@jamesakersjr) via Instagram  Erica Lynn P. posted from Washington, D.C., saying "I took a selfie with Papa Francesco. What did you do today?" jamesakersjr (@jamesakersjr) via Instagram  Connor Schumacher posted from Washington, D.C., saying "His Holiness Pope Francis." cschumacher15 (@cschumacher15) via Instagram As TIME explained the week after his death, Hammarskjöld had an outsized influence in revitalizing the United Nations: --- > “” --- His death threatened to derail the United Nations, suddenly left without a leader at a time when Cold War tensions characterized international relations between the major powers. The U.N.’s founders had, oddly enough, not left written instructions for how to proceed should a Secretary-General end his term due to death. It seemed to many observers that the loss of Hammarskjöld would mean the loss of that hope he had fostered, the hope for a world where small steps toward peace seemed possible. “As though I had lost a dear and personal friend, I wept bitter tears of sorrow and regret at the news of the death of a great and good man, a true and courageous gentleman, Dag Hammarskjöld,” one TIME reader [wrote](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-09-29/page/5/ "undefined") to the magazine in the days that followed. “He belonged not to his native land alone but to all the free world.” And yet, more than a half-century later, the United Nations continues to trudge ahead. For a speech in which the Pope also mentioned that “the experience of the past 70 years has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary,” few names would be more relevant to invoke than Hammarskjöld’s. **_Read more about the aftermath of Hammarskjold’s death, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The U.N. in Crisis](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-09-29/page/1/ "undefined") ### See Every Pope Who’s Ever Been on the Cover of TIME  Pope Pius XI on the June 16, 1924, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Pius XI on the Dec. 29, 1930, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Pius XI on the Apr. 3, 1933, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Pius XII on the Aug. 16, 1943, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ANDREI HUDIAKOFF  Pope Pius XII on the Dec. 14, 1953, cover of TIME Cover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN  Pope John XXIII on the Nov. 10, 1958, cover of TIME Cover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN  Pope John XXIII on the Oct. 5, 1962, cover of TIME Cover Credit: PIETRO ANNIGONI  Pope John XXIII, Person of the Year, on the Jan. 4, 1963, cover of TIME Cover Credit: BERNARD SAFRAN  Pope John XXIII on the June 7, 1963, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS  Pope Paul VI on the June 28, 1963, cover of TIME Cover Credit: DAVID LEES  Pope Paul VI on the Sep. 24, 1965, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Paul VI on the Nov. 22, 1968, cover of TIME Cover Credit: LOUIS GLANZMAN  Pope John Paul I on the Sep. 4, 1978, cover of TIME Cover Credit: DAVID LEES  Pope John Paul I on the Oct. 9, 1978, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ENRICO FERORELLI  Pope John Paul II on the Oct. 30, 1978, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ARTURO MARI  Pope John Paul II on the June 18, 1979, cover of TIME Cover Credit: GIANFRANCO GORGONI  Pope John Paul II on the Oct. 15, 1979, cover of TIME Cover Credit: NEIL LEIFER  Pope John Paul II on the May 25, 1981, cover of TIME Cover Credit: FOTAM  Pope John Paul II on the June 7, 1982, cover of TIME Cover Credit: MARTIN CLEAVER, FRANCOIS LOCHON-GAMMA, DAVID HUME KENNERLY  Pope John Paul II on the Mar. 14, 1983, cover of TIME Cover Credit: FRANK FOURNIER  Pope John Paul II on the June 27, 1983, cover of TIME Cover Credit: INTERPRESS/JURGENS  Pope John Paul II on the Jan. 9, 1984, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ARTURO MARI  Pope John Paul II on the Feb. 4, 1985, cover of TIME Cover Credit: MARIO DONIZETTI  Pope John Paul II on the Feb. 24, 1992, cover of TIME Cover Credit: DIRCK HALSTEAD / GIANNI GIANSANTI-SYGMA (POPE JOHN PAUL II)  Pope John Paul II, Person of the Year, on the Dec. 26, 1994, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ROBERT AMMIRATI  Pope John Paul II on the Jan. 26, 1998, cover of TIME Cover Credit: GERARD RANCINAN  Pope John Paul II on the Apr. 3, 2000, cover of TIME Cover Credit: ARTURO MARI  Pope John Paul II on the Apr. 11, 2005, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Benedict XVI on the May 2, 2005, cover of TIME TIME  Pope Benedict XVI on the Nov. 27, 2006, cover of TIME Cover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY MAX ROSSI/REUTERS  Pope Benedict XVI on the Apr. 14, 2008, cover of TIME Cover Credit: JOHN RITTER  Pope Benedict XVI on the Feb. 25, 2013, cover of TIME Cover Credit: EVANDRO INETTI-ZUMA PRESS  Pope Francis on the Mar. 25, 2013, cover of TIME Cover Credit: STEFANO DAL POZZOLO / CONTRASTO / REDUX  Pope Francis, Person of the Year, on the Dec. 23, 2013, cover of TIME Cover Credit: PORTRAIT BY JASON SEILER FOR TIME  The Oct. 5, 2015, cover of TIME Photograph by Mandel Ngan–AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4050008/pope-francis-dag-hammarskjold/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4050008/pope-francis-dag-hammarskjold/"},"headline":"Why Pope Francis Praised Dag Hammarskjöld","datePublished":"2015-09-25T15:10:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:29.516Z","description":"The Pope mentioned the former United Nations Secretary-General by name","url":"https://time.com/4050008/pope-francis-dag-hammarskjold/","keywords":["faith","Pope Francis topic","United Nations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95e02fbe2bc1dae9/69886577e20a87ed76a8d773/dag.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95e02fbe2bc1dae9/69886577e20a87ed76a8d773/dag.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hammarskjoeld, Dag - 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