POPE FRANCIS (1936-2025): MAY ETERNAL LIGHT SHINE UPON HIM
It was a fresh wind that sent the white smoke billowing away from the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on March 13, 2013. This ancient herald of a new pope was the first indication of how a cardinal from Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, would refresh and renew the Catholic world.
Now, 12 years later, we mourn the death of a man who, as Pope Francis, lifted the hearts of more than a billion Catholics and inspired countless others, especially those who suffered severe illness, those who fled suffering and even death in war-torn countries, those who were abused and oppressed merely because of who they were, and those who struggled with poverty.
This pope reimagined what it meant to be God’s Vicar on Earth. He demonstrated a rare humility in his response to a question about homosexual lifestyles: “Who am I to judge?” he asked journalists on his plane trip returning from a foreign trip. His description of the Church in the 21st century as a “field hospital” taking care of the wounded on a battlefield reminded us that the Catholic Church was not a self-referential closed society, but a source of the healing and comfort of Jesus Christ for the entire world.
He chose to be called Pope Francis, after the 13th-century saint who devoted his life to serving the poor and outcast. It was an important signal, marking his future actions. Unlike previous popes, Francis refused to live in the papal palace, choosing more modest quarters in the Vatican’s guesthouse, Casa Marta. He would take the same elevator as others at Casa Marta and was known to dine with them. He eschewed the usual Mercedes limousine for a cheaper Fiat. His first trip was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a stopping off point for immigrants striving to reach Europe from Asia and Africa, so he could bring the healing message of Christ to the desperate homeless.
The pope constantly lived up to his namesake, stressing the need for the Church to focus on the poor and oppressed. His healing vision included the entire planet and all its species with a special concern for environmental degradation caused by global warning.
Canadians will remember him as the Pope who came here to apologize directly to indigenous people who had been affected by the legacy of Canada’s residential school system. He brought to them “a message of hope, peace, compassion and mercy,” said Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary and president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
He was a pope who mainly looked outward, beyond the Vatican walls. But a pope is also an administrator of a sovereign state and global organization. Like many who came before him, Francis became embroiled in internal Catholic controversies, especially between traditionalists and those who sought to open up the Church to be more welcoming of outsiders. Though his tendencies were clearly toward reform, he moved slowly in making major changes, sometimes too slowly for his critics, especially in such areas as clerical sex abuse and dealing with same-sex couples. But move he did, staring down his increasingly vociferous conservative critics.
But this does not mean to be an obituary or a scorecard of his papacy. We’ll leave that to the media and historians. Rather, this is a lament for a beloved leader, a clearly holy man, an inspiration for us all. It is a first expression of mourning, a moment of sadness and a prayer for a pope who was a moral force and a healer.
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.”
Joseph Sinasac is a retired Publishing Director of Novalis Publishing. He has been involved with religious communications for almost 45 years as an author, journalist, editor and TV and radio commentator on all things Catholic.
