By Fr George Plathottam sdb
Pope Francis (1936-2025)
The world mourns for Pope Francis at his ‘transitus’, to use a word that is both rich in meaning and familiar to the Church and the Franciscan spiritual tradition to describe one’s passing. His death, no doubt, is the end of a remarkable era. He leaves behind a great legacy.
Pope Francis has many firsts to his credit: the first Latin American Pope, the first Jesuit to become the successor of Peter, the first to assume the title of one of the world’s most loved saints, St Francis of Assisi, the first Pope to publish a candid autobiography. When his wish to be buried in the Basilica of Mary Major is fulfilled, he would be the first Pope in recent times to be buried outside St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Only third to Pope Leo XIII and a seventh century Pope Agathon, the 88-year-old Francis is the second oldest Pope in history. Pope Benedict XVI who died at the age of 95, had left office at 85.
We bow our heads in respect to the memory of Pope Francis. After the initial difficulties to pronounce his name, Jorgio Mario Bergoglio, people warmed up to him from the time he appeared on March 13, 2013 as the freshly elected Pope on the balcony of St Peter’s in simple white vestments with head bowed down asking people to pray for him and bless him before he would impart a blessing on them.
Like his predecessors Pope Francis leaves his own distinct mark on the Church and the world. He brought about major curia reforms in the Vatican, initiated a worldwide consultation in the Church called Synod on Synodality with a desire to make the Church more focused and committed to its mission and to give concrete expression to the vision of Vatican II and its call for renewal expressed in the Latin phrase “ecclesia semper reformanda” which means “the church must always be reformed”.
During the conclave, when it became obvious that Cardinal Bergoglio would be the next Pope, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a Franciscan and champion of the poor, whispered to him the words, “do not forget the poor”. Bergoglio was immediately inspired by the thought of assuming the name Francis and continued to be a champion of the poor and never stopped reminding the church of eschewing all forms of opulence and luxury and live and witness to the Gospel of simplicity, poverty and service to the poor. He wanted to truly live the role of the Pope as the one who ‘presides over charity’. He wanted to be with the poor in word and deed.
His many teachings and actions as Pope indicate his wholehearted commitment to the cause of the poor. He reminded everyone of the need to make a church that places the poor at its heart, making her like a field hospital, making it less self-referential, having concern for the migrants and refugees, the homeless, those in prison, victims of war and violence. Even a day before his death, his appeal for peace and end to violence was conveyed to the world during his Easter Sunday message.
His frequent use of the word ‘periphery’ made some refer to him as the ‘Pope of the periphery’. His numerous apostolic visits to far-flung regions and small churches in countries like Mongolia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Japan, Sudan, Burkina Faso were concrete expressions of reaching out to the ‘periphery’.
Beyond the church, Francis was loved by all sections of the people for his deep commitment for the environment which he called ‘our common home’ and his pathbreaking encyclical ‘Laudato si’, subtitled “on care for our common home” published in 2015. In it, the Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action”.
In 2023 he published a sequel in the form of an Apostolic Exhortation, ‘Laudato deum’. In this document, he called for speedy action: “With the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons”.
He has made frequent and passionate pleas to world leaders to do much more to mitigate climate change and care for our common home. Laudato si became a movement under his watch and together with his commitment to the cause of the Indigenous Peoples of the world, who are the major victims of climate change, he has touched the conscience of the world.
Having known the ravages of war at close quarters, he championed the cause of peace and reconciliation, calling for an end to arms race and violence. His autobiography ‘Hope’ is replete with his anguish about a world that is at war in many parts of the globe. His appeals for peace have been loud and clear while he has tried everything possible using his office to become a peace builder, urging heads of warring nations to negotiate for peace, meeting them and sending emissaries, urging the world to pray for peace.
Even as wars and violence continue to rage in Europe, the Middle East, in Asia and in his own native Latin America, his appeal to the consciences of everyone cannot be lost. Instead of despair he calls to seek mercy and forgiveness and to live in hope that comes from God which does not disappoint us.
He assiduously cultivated fraternal relations with the various churches and strove for unity and ecumenical collaboration. He invited more than a dozen fraternal delegates to participate in the Synod on Synodality, he worked jointly with the head of the Church of England Archbishop Justin Welby and other Church leaders in promoting peace in Sudan and elsewhere. He also pursued cordial relationship with leaders of the major religions like Islam.
In February 2019 he signed together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together in Abu Dhabi. In 2024, during his visit to Indonesia, he blessed the “Tunnel of Friendship” linking the Istiqlal Mosque with the St Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Jakarta to promote interfaith bond.
Pope Francis has also been hated and reviled, criticised by people within the Church and outside. He has been criticised for his pronouncements in favour of the LGBTQ, the divorced, his curial reforms and vision of pluralism, his ban on the traditional Latin Mass, his appeal for welcoming migrants and refugees.
Some within the Church’s higher ups have not taken kindly to his dream project of a synodal church, his advocacy and action indicating greater roles for women, laity and his interpretation of the ‘sensus fidelium’ and the many administrative and financial reforms in the Church.
Having met Pope Francis in person a number of times, my impressions of him are vivid and memorable. He is very personal, looks directly at you in the eye, and has a rare warmth and a smile. He is totally attentive to the moment and the person before him. He is infinitely patient and there is no hurry or busyness in his interactions with people. His doors are open to all categories of people, and he is totally non-judgmental. Remember his words, ‘who am I to judge?’. In an interview to Antonio Spadaro who asked him, “Who is Jorgio Bergoglio?”, he said, “I am a sinner.”
The word ‘encounter’ is one of his favourites, and even in a crowd, his gaze is on individuals-the children, the youth, the ordinary person in front of him. One cannot fail to observe his profound humility and simplicity, his spontaneity and approachability.
Pope Francis is bowing out in this special jubilee year of hope which he has been leading from the front even as he braved prolonged health concerns. As he passes on and the world bids goodbye to this “Good Pastor Pope”, his enduring message to the whole Church and the world would be to continue this journey as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ and follow the path of peace and mercy as shown by Christ, the Good Shepherd.
Fr George Plathottam is a Consultant to the Department of Communication of the Vatican. Till recently, he served as the Executive Secretary of the Office of Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). He is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and is based in Guwahati, Assam.
