Requiescat in pace, Papa Franciscus

Pope Francis passed away this morning. Although he had been very sick recently, spending more than six weeks in the hospital, he had seemed to be recovering, so I was surprised to learn of his passing. He seems to have saved the last of his energy to spend as much of Holy Week as possible with his people. He visited the prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, where he traditionally washed the feet of prisoners. He visited St. Peter’s Basilica and the Basilica of Mary Major. He spoke to the crowd at St. Peter’s yesterday, Easter Sunday, delivering his Urbi et Orbi message before riding through the square in the popemobile. It was amazing seeing him suddenly so active, but I worried he was overdoing it. No, he knew exactly what he was doing.

He was born Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936. After recovering from a severe illness as a teenager (that left his lungs weakened), he joined the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a priest in 1969. He served as a novice director and a professor of theology. From 1973-1979 he served as the superior of the Jesuits in Argentina.

After his time as provincial superior he taught at the Facultades de Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel, the Jesuit seminary in Buenos Aires. After six years, he was asked to step down, as he did not reflect the modern trend of emphasizing social justice over direct pastoral work. He was known for being orthodox in his beliefs, and he rejected liberation theology, which was huge in Central and South America at the time. Because of this, he clashed with his Jesuit superiors. 

In 1992 he became an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. Jesuit authorities asked him to not live in Jesuit residences due do ongoing disagreements. Though he did not formally part from the Jesuits, from that point on, he focused on his role in the archdiocese. In 1998, he became the archbishop of Buenos Aires. As archbishop, he reformed a lot of the archdiocese and worked to increase the Church’s presence in the poorest neighborhoods. He was even known as “the slum bishop.” He lived in a small apartment and took public transport.

In 2013, after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, Francis was elected the new pope. (There were claims he had been a frontrunner in 2005 at the conclave that elected Benedict.) Francis chose his papal name after St. Francis of Assisi. He was the first Jesuit ever to be pope and the first pope from the Americas (his family is of Italian origin). In fact, he was the first non-European pope since 741.

His pontificate was marked by his humility and informal approach. He never moved into the papal apartments; rather he lived in the guest house where he had stayed during the conclave. He preferred his comfy shoes and toned-down vestments. He chose silver instead of gold for his ring and kept the same pectoral cross he has used as an archbishop. He worked to get rid of clericalism and also aimed to have more diverse representation in the Church—both with women and people from the southern hemisphere. He spoke out strongly against war (especially Ukraine and Gaza) and worked on interreligious dialogue.

While I sometimes took issue with how the things he said (especially on planes) were twisted by secular media, I think the issue was more with the secular world trying to fit him into a box, rather than anything he actually said. At times his Jesuit style of posing questions or opening up dialogue contradicted the desire for a leader to say things definitively. Although he would speak out on issues definitively as well.

He cared for creation and urged Christians to mind their Christian duty to care for the environment. Not only are we the stewards of God’s creation, but the disruptions to our environment disproportionally affect the poor and marginalized. Caring for creation is care for human dignity.

In 2016 he proclaimed the Jubilee of Mercy, and this year he proclaimed the Jubilee of Hope. I think of those of two of his strongest messages: mercy and hope.

I think his legacy will be his desire to reach out to the marginalized and his humble approach to the trappings of the papacy. Many non-Catholics found him to be a genuine, caring religious leader, showing how his ministry reached those beyond the Church. He desired to mend bridges and comfort those on the peripheries, so I think he would be pleased with that legacy.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

"We are all aware that no one escapes the mystery of death and that the multiple questions that arise from this event cannot but call into question that virtue which, more than any other, allows every man and woman to look beyond the human limit: hope! Because hope is life, it is living, it is giving meaning to the journey, it is finding the reasons for which to go on, motivating the meaning of our existence, of our present, of our being here, now." -Pope Francis in the introduction to the book “Prophets of Hope. Don Tonino Bello and Pope Francis” by Don Tommaso Giannuzzi.