Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, died at the age of 88 on Monday, April 21, 2025. His pontificate is already considered one of the most significant in history. His “stellar moments” of profound intelligence, boldness, and, on many occasions, great courage are countless. He was the right man in the right place at the right time. Such are the ways of God. The Holy Father is one of those men who are described as “larger than life.” He far exceeds the boundaries imposed by his office, which is saying a lot. We can rightly speak of a before and after the era of Francis. The press and Vatican experts highlight several aspects of his extraordinary personality. It is impossible to cover them all, but we would like to mention the following:
1. First non-European pope
We have to go back to St. Gregory III, born in Syria and pope between 734 and 741, to find a non-European pope. On the night of March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio addressed the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square: “You know that the duty of the Conclave was to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone to look for him almost at the end of the world, but here we are.” With these simple but significant words, he marked a new beginning in the history of the papacy: closeness, simplicity, simple humanity. The first American pope and nearing retirement. He immediately reminded us of John XXIII who, despite his age, would leave his mark on the Church for decades.
2. The Church looks to the East
In January 2015, Francis went to the Philippines. Among the various events he presided over, the massive Mass in Manila stands out, which, according to official figures, was attended by between 6 and 7 million people. The trip showed the Holy Father’s prophetic vision of “looking to the East,” encouraging missionaries in Asian countries to continue their work of evangelization and showing the world where the Church will grow in this millennium. The Philippines is predominantly Catholic, the birthplace of many missionaries and a bridge between East and West. The Catholic Church will now have Asian features.
3. Young people first
In August 2013, Pope Francis presided over World Youth Day (WYD) Rio 2013, where more than three million faithful took part in this mega event that culminated with Mass on Copacabana Beach. There, the Pope showed what would characterize his pontificate: a use of language that was accessible, friendly, and cordial, empathizing with young people, encouraging them to “play as a team” for God, and exhorting them to make prayer, the sacraments, and service to others, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, the center of their lives. Years later, in Lisbon 2023, he would challenge them to expand their capacity to welcome and love with the famous “All, all, all!” inviting them to welcome everyone without discrimination. We are all children of God. At the meeting, he spoke of the two pillars of spiritual life: the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes, something he would repeat on many occasions.
4. Mercy at the center of his pontificate
From his motto, “Miserando atque eligendo” (“He looked upon him with mercy and chose him”), mercy was at the center of his pontificate. On December 8, 2015, he proclaimed the Year of Mercy, which began with the opening of the Holy Door in the Cathedral of Bangui, in the Central African Republic, the first time a pontiff has begun a jubilee outside Rome. There have been many gestures and texts along these lines, including the encyclical Dilexit Nos on the merciful heart of Jesus. Francis established the so-called Fridays of Mercy, a tradition in which he made surprise visits to the most needy or those who may feel distant from the Church, a practice that he continued to this day.
5. Multimedia pope. Not just apostolic letters and encyclicals. Much, much more
During his 12 years as pope, Francis was able to reach a wide audience on all virtual platforms and in all formats, thanks to an excellent communications team. His homilies, pastoral letters, apostolic exhortations, and encyclicals were always made accessible through videos, talks, forums, documentaries, and much more. This was the case with the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, on love in the family. This is not a text written in an office, between four walls, but the fruit of the reflections of the Diocesan Synods on the Family held between 2014 and 2015, incorporating elements and reflections that emerged from those meetings and quoting them directly. The same is true of Fratelli Tutti, on human fraternity, published in 2020, which found pedagogical and pastoral application in a true ecclesial movement centered on it.
6. Mary at the center of his life and pastoral message
In 2017, the Holy Father traveled to Fatima (Portugal) for the celebration of the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the shepherds Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia. There, on May 13, exactly 100 years after the first apparition, the Pope declared Francisco and Jacinta, the children who witnessed the apparitions, as saints. He constantly invoked the Blessed Virgin and dedicated hundreds of reflections to her. Noteworthy is his prayer before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, where he spent many minutes in contemplation and prayer before her.
7. Canonization of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Monsignor Romero, and many lay people
The canonizations carried out by Pope Francis are unique in that they involve exemplary lives of people who were highly valued and loved by the faithful, such as Carlo Acutis. Carlo suffered from leukemia and was known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist.” In 2014, in the presence of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis declared two popes as saints: St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II. The occasion, considered historic, brought together four popes of the Catholic Church.
8. Historic trips to the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Building bridges with the Muslim world
Pope Francis led the Church to turn its gaze to Asia and build bridges with countries in the Muslim world. Of particular significance was his visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2019, a meeting considered historic because of the Pope’s involvement in various peace and reconciliation processes around the world. There, together with the Imam of Al-Azhar, the highest Sunni Islamic religious authority, he signed a “Joint Declaration on Human Fraternity.” Also noteworthy is his visit to Iraq in March 2021, the first pontiff to travel to that country, where Christians have suffered years of violence and persecution. During his stay, he visited churches that were destroyed by the Islamic State and participated in an interfaith meeting in the plain of Ur, the land of Abraham, becoming the first pope to celebrate a Mass according to the Chaldean rite there.
9. Difficult years with the coronavirus pandemic
Pope Francis had to deal with a world in the midst of a pandemic. On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Pope presided over an extraordinary moment of prayer for the coronavirus pandemic, during which he imparted the Urbi et Orbi blessing to Rome and the world, with the possibility of plenary indulgence for the faithful. He knew how to deal with this tragedy by encouraging the faithful and humanity to seek new paths of encounter, increase solidarity, and grow in their trust in God.
10. An ecological Pope. A prophetic voice on climate change and care for the environment
The encyclical Laudato Si which addresses taking care of the environment is a prophetic milestone, as it anticipated a global wave of concern about climate change and the ecological crisis. Published in 2015, it is a key text for addressing the care of nature in a comprehensive manner. Eight years later, in 2023, he published a new letter on the subject, Laudate Deum, toughening his tone in the face of the evident massive destruction of our fragile world. He warned us: There is no replacement planet. Either we change our attitude, or we disappear.
11. The Pope, apostle of the existential frontiers of the Church
Pope Francis made several memorable and unprecedented apostolic journeys. Particularly noteworthy was his visit to the US Congress, where he became the first pope to address the American Congress. But it is his visits to small countries, on the fringes of the heart of European Catholicism, that were most noteworthy for their enormous symbolic value. More than the number of people gathered—in some places such as East Timor, there are only a few hundred Christians—the message conveyed by visiting isolated places with small but faithful and courageous Catholic communities was one of support for all communities in the “Christian diaspora,” regardless of their numbers. The most notable of these is the 12-day trip to Asia and Oceania in September 2024. He flew almost 43 hours, traveling several thousand kilometers and visiting regions that, when viewed from the Vatican, are on the other side of the world.
12. Incorporation of women into the organizational chart, governance, and ecclesial structure
Previous popes have not lacked good intentions on this issue. But it is Francis who, with determination and despite mistrust and suspicion, took concrete steps to incorporate women into the management and order of the Church. Notable examples include the first woman prefect of a Vatican dicastery and the secretary general of the Vatican Governance, a position traditionally assigned to a bishop. Another example is the first woman director of the Vatican Museums. And perhaps most significantly, the first undersecretary general of the Synod of Bishops, an advisory body to the Pope. With these appointments, the Pope invited dioceses to follow his example and incorporate more women and lay people into the leadership structure of the local Church.
13. Zero tolerance for abuse and transparency in the Church’s actions
Rather than making grand statements on the issue of abuse within the Church, the Pope took concrete and clear measures on the issue that made it possible to address these crimes promptly, energetically, and decisively. The same is true of the Vatican’s finances, where painstaking work has been done to ensure that the Church’s assets and the contributions of the faithful are used more effectively.
14. The Pope of existential frontiers
Francis repeatedly spoke of going to those whom no one reaches, the poorest and most vulnerable – “I want a poor Church for the poor,” he said on one occasion – minorities, those who are marginalized from social and economic life everywhere. He preached this by example, visiting prisons, hospitals, slums in difficult areas, and dedicating time and space to the marginalized and migrants, children, the sick, and the elderly.
15. The Pope of encounter, of walking together, of synodality
Perhaps it was the last Synod of Bishops, in which lay people and religious women were included, that most characterized and will mark his pontificate. He was a man who built bridges, who welcomed and listened. Indeed, the Pope preached by example, living simply, seeking and welcoming different points of view. He spoke of a Church whose harmony is not the result of a kind of uniformity but a polyphonic symphony from which richness and variety spring forth, a multicolored life that is therefore rich and fruitful. Francis knew how to recognize his weaknesses. Perhaps it is this plain, simple, welcoming style that has extended his influence far beyond the boundaries of the Church. It must be said that, proportionally, he received more leaders from countries outside the Christian sphere than any of his predecessors.
Pope Francis has left an indelible mark on the life of the Church and, with it, on the world. There has been no major issue in world politics on which he did not express the opinion of the Church, on which his words have not been sought, been a source of inspiration and life, listened to and valued. The meeting of world leaders in Dubai in December 2023—COP28, the UN Convention on the Care of the Environment—is a true reflection of this. His prophetic call to be “pilgrims of hope” in this jubilee year is yet another sign of a shepherd’s heart that has Jesus at its center, placing him as a vital reference point in the lives of men and women. Francis has walked alongside and in the midst of a humanity wounded by war, poverty, and division, showing solidarity with it, comforting the fallen, the marginalized, and the vulnerable, and inviting it to lift its gaze to welcome Christ, the only answer, with joy and hope.
Source: Vínculo magazine, March 2025, no. 388
