“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.”
Pope Francis
Introduction
Only a few attain the enormous honour of being God’s messenger. The highly secretive election process of the Vatican’s conclave, where a selection of Cardinals gather in Rome to elect a new Pope. The symbol of the Pope’s election is a plume of white smoke coming from a metal chimney at the Vatican. This process will sadly begin again soon after the devastating announcement for Catholics worldwide that Pope Francis has died at the age of 88 after a period of ill health. Pope Francis was a humble man, the first Pope from South America, born in Buenos Aires in 1936 and someone who dedicated his life to championing the poor and the oppressed. A Jesuit who saw the challenges of the modern world and built on traditional Catholic teaching. A man who performed a balancing act between the traditional and progressive wings of the Catholic Church. An advocate of social justice, he leaves a powerful legacy, and even in a period of recuperation, he managed to address the faithful in Vatican Square on Easter Sunday for the Papal address at mass.
Francis
Pope Francis was a significant Pope because he reached out beyond Europe. He appointed those from far-flung lands. He was a reformist, bringing the Catholic Church from a place of turmoil in 2013 to a more stable platform. He got more women into the church and introduced the possibility of blessing gay couples—a starting gun but an unfinished process that his successor may decide to scupper. Francis taught people to live according to the gospel and was a voice of climate change. A figure who made Catholics restore their belief in openly celebrating their religion. A half-reformed process that still has a long way to go. He was a clever man who navigated through the Dirty War in Argentina. A foodie and an opera fan who loved football with a beaming smile. A man with spiritual depth who chose to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house rather than the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. Taking his papal name from Saint Francis of Assisi, he supported the care of refugees from turmoil countries. He was a key figure in restoring diplomatic relations between America and Cuba. A person who radiated kindness, humbleness and generosity and someone who will be greatly missed by so many. A new chapter dawns in the Catholic Church, but Pope Francis will be remembered as a man who strived for reform and represented the voice that so many choose not to hear.
