Pope Francis

I have Pope Francis’ funeral scheduled to record, and tomorrow I plan to sit down and, like we did during the pandemic, attend his funeral mass virtually.  So much has been written about him since he passed, it feels a little redundant to even think about trying to say something new about this amazing man.

But I feel a debt to Pope Francis. Being a life-long Catholic who has worked in the Church and in church related organizations, I have loved the Church and simultaneously been frustrated by various Church teachings and attitudes.  I have lamented the divisions that separate Catholics into different camps.  But over the past decade, whenever the Church has become too much to bear, I could always look to Francis. Over the years of his papacy, Francis anchored not only my faith, but my religiosity. 

He had me when he checked himself out of the hotel he was staying in as a cardinal and paid his own bill before heading to his new non-palatial permanent home in the Vatican. 

That first year, he made two comments that not only caught my imagination, but the imagination of the world.  He first expressed the idea of “shepherds with the smell of the sheep” in a homily at the Chrism Mass on March 28, 2013.  Later, he repeated this analogy in remarks to a group of French priests in Rome.  He was emphasizing the importance of closeness, humility, and personal connection, which discipleship requires of both pastor and parishioner alike. 

His second comment that greatly impacted me was “who am I to judge?”  This was said in July of 2013 during a press conference on a flight back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip to Brazil. This statement encouraged a shift towards open dialogue, particularly in dealing with issues like divorce, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and other sensitive topics.

Francis was a both/and sort of person. My fervent prayer is that the Holy Spirit is very hands on during the conclave that will elect his successor, and that when the white smoke appears over the Sistine Chapel, a man very much like Francis takes his place.

There is a quote that has been attributed to St. Peter, the first pope. It does not appear in any of the canonical texts or historical writings directly associated with Peter, and is more likely just a modern paraphrase of Christian values.  But I like to think it might have been something that both Peter and Francis would have said, and reflects my hopes for our next pontiff...