Speaking to Indonesian clergy and the faithful at Jakarta's Cathedral, the pope reflected on three virtues he said defined his pilgrimage: faith, fraternity and compassion.
In discussing fraternity, he drew upon the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Indonesian people, quoting from Szymborska's 1957 poem Nothing Twice.
Without naming Szymborska directly, but referring to "a certain 20th-century poet," Francis quoted: "No two drops of water are alike, nor are two brothers or sisters; not even twins are completely identical."
He continued: "Living out fraternity, then, means welcoming each other, recognizing each other as equal in diversity."
Francis added:"To be brothers and sisters means loving while recognizing one another as different as two drops of water."
About 87 percent of Indonesia's population of 276 million is Muslim. Roman Catholics account for 3 percent of the population.
Szymborska died in 2012 at the age of 88. She received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996.
(mk/gs)