On Monday 21 April, a sequence of unpredictable events unfolded with the death of Pope Francis. Just a day earlier, the entire world had seen him appear on the balcony of St Peter’s, giving the Urbi et Orbi blessing. Tired, yes, but animated by the joy of Easter, he had also taken advantage of that packed Resurrection Sunday to tour in the ‘popemobile’ among the thousands of pilgrims gathered in Rome.
That same morning, just a few hours before his walk through the square, another meeting was reported in the media: Pope Francis received the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, in a private audience. Vance himself described this meeting of a few minutes as “a great gift.” Although many tried to encourage a confrontation between the pope and the new U.S. administration, this was the last private audience granted by Francis, who made an effort to attend to Vance.
After his meeting Francis looked out onto the balcony. We now know that this was his final public appearance, and his weary face was the last that Christendom would see of him. At 88 years of age, and after 12 intense years of pontificate, Jorge Mario Bergoglio passed away shortly after 7:30 in the morning. The news spread through the streets of Rome with a sense of disbelief, and the silence of Easter Monday morning was broken by the tolling bells of St Peter’s: the Pope had died.
Phones around the world quickly filled with images and videos of his kind face, as well as his spontaneous phrases. Some viewed his pronouncements as a threat to the Church’s tradition; others found in his creative expression of the Magisterium a call to the universality of the Christian message. But Pope Francis left no one indifferent.
Pope Francis was, therefore, a man of great passions: thousands of young people entered the Church for the first time after hearing his warm words. Many others, however, saw his pontificate as a time of confusion, due to his controversial statements, some of his documents such as Fiducia Supplicans or Amoris Laetitia, or his relationship with traditional liturgy. Indeed, his Traditionis Custodes certainly did not sit well with the more traditional sectors of the Church.
Francis’ death, despite everything, was in some way unforeseen: Rome and the world had expected his passing months earlier, when bronchitis —worsened into pneumonia— kept him in the Gemelli Hospital for 38 days. Perhaps in June 2023, when doctors hospitalized the Holy Father for nine days following abdominal surgery. Rome and the world might have expected his death on Easter Tuesday, or Wednesday, or perhaps during Holy Week. But on that Monday of Easter joy? Even in the way he left, Francis seemed original.
Throughout his life, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the first in many things, and this has been palpable in the recent atmosphere of Rome. When on 13 March 2013, Cardinal Protodeacon Jean-Louis Tauran announced the joy of a new pontiff —“Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam”— many wondered what name the successor to Ratzinger would choose. In some way, the elected cardinal would inevitably form a triptych with his two predecessors, Benedict XVI and Saint John Paul II, whose shadow still loomed over the Church. Monsignor Tauran’s next words took the world by surprise. Who was behind that unknown surname? His message from the balcony continued: “Qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum”.
Francis? The first novelty of Pope Francis’ pontificate lay in his very name, which in recent days has appeared on hundreds of banners throughout the Eternal City. In front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where his remains now lie, a large sign still hangs: “Grazie, Francesco”; in souvenir shops, his name is everywhere; in the hearts of pilgrims, his characteristic smile. He once charmingly explained how he chose the name with which to present himself to the world: “During the conclave, I had Cardinal Hummes from Brazil next to me, who helped me a lot once I saw I might be elected. After the final vote, Hummes came over, kissed me, and said: ‘Don’t forget the poor.’ And I stayed there thinking… the poor, the poor… and Saint Francis. That’s when the name came to me”.
Not only in his name —which may yet inspire a tradition— but also in his origin. Two key traits explain the pastoral sensitivity and priorities of Francis over the past twelve years: Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the first Pope from the American continent and, moreover, from a southern hemisphere nation. His Argentine personality explains many of the spontaneous gestures that marked his papacy. He also made history by becoming the first Holy Father from the Society of Jesus. After the conclave, some fellow cardinals suggested the name Clement, to symbolically undo the Jesuits’ suppression signed by Clement XIV in 1773. But Francis knew he wanted to be close to the poorest of the poor.
Thus, Monsignor Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, best summed up what Rome has experienced in recent days: “It was the funeral of a pastor, not of a sovereign.” From the discreet vigil in the chapel of Santa Marta—where he had resided throughout his pontificate—on Wednesday 23, Francis’ body was transferred to the interior of St Peter’s Basilica, where it was placed just a few meters in front of Bernini’s baldachin.
From that moment, thousands and thousands of people kept arriving, forming a queue that became a Babel of indistinguishable tongues. The universality of the Church manifests itself, among other things, in these unpronounceable prayers mingled with Latin supplications. In the Pope, all languages were understood. That Wednesday morning the trickle began, which concluded by Friday afternoon with a total of 250,000 people having paid their final respects to Francis.
In that long queue, I met Camille, a Belgian university student. She had been in Rome for work the previous Monday and decided to extend her stay to witness Francis’ final farewell up close: “It’s very touching to think Pope Francis accompanied me through all my youth, and now his successor will accompany me through the next years. What comes out of the conclave is very important, because the world needs a Pope who is up to the task”.
I also see Mateo, a doctor from Illinois, standing in line praying the rosary. Although he doesn’t understand many of the polemics of Francis’ pontificate, “There are some documents that the next pope needs to correct,” he wanted to fly to Rome to pay his respects: “I don’t agree with many of the reforms he implemented, but I have come to pray for his soul. I hope the Lord welcomes him. Francis has spoken a lot about mercy…”
Francis’ lying-in-state was, then, a fervent moment to bid farewell to the Pope of our time of changes—as he himself said, and not a change of times. The faithful queue stretched up to two kilometers, reaching the end of Via della Conciliazione. And on the other side of Michelangelo’s imposing dome, through the Vatican gardens, a quieter queue brought together heads of state, bishops, and cardinals who also wished to approach Francis’ velvet-covered coffin. Late that Wednesday evening, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her minister Antonio Tajani discreetly paid their respects.
That week of vigil concluded on Saturday 26 with the state funeral. Though simplified somewhat by Pope Francis—who had introduced reforms to reduce the customary pomp of the Holy See— the fact remains that for over two hours some 400,000 faithful prayed, alongside the College of Cardinals and prominent global leaders, for the soul of Pope Francis: the funeral was, in fact, further evidence of the Catholic Church’s universality. By 5:30 a.m. that day, the entrances to St Peter’s Square were already overwhelmed.
The ceremony unfolded over the morning in the Roman April sun and breeze. Some joked among the press corps: “It’s the breath of the Holy Spirit”. While a great cloud covered Rome during Benedict XVI’s funeral, Francis’ farewell was marked by a breeze. Winds of change? Shortly after the end of the Eucharist, presided over by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Monsignor Battista Re, a group of patriarchs, major archbishops, and metropolitans of the Eastern Churches, led by the Patriarch of Antioch, surrounded Francis’ modest coffin to chant ancient Byzantine hymns: in haunting Greek, they silenced nearly half a million attendees with the Supplicatio Ecclesiae Orientalium. Amid tears and applause, Francis’ coffin re-entered the basilica, from where it was taken to the Marian temple of Santa Maria Maggiore.
And now, what lies ahead for the Catholic Church? The day after Francis’ death, the General Congregations began—meetings where cardinals have the chance to get to know one another and outline the main themes of the next pontificate. The shadow of Pope Francis is a long one, and his years leading the Church will surely weigh as a legacy on his successor. Spanish Cardinal José Cobo recently acknowledged the current atmosphere: “There are tensions among the cardinals, but not confrontations. Working in diversity, as in any family, means everyone can have different opinions”.
Other cardinals have expressed similar views, acknowledging the coming years as crucial for the Church and our era: “This is not a race for leadership! We are listening and asking what the Church needs”, said Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec.
On these needs, the words of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, are frankly illuminating. The prelate, with a traditional sensibility, recently explained that the Church needs a pastor like Francis but with a few more characteristics: “The warm heart of Francis… what would I say? More clarity of teaching, more refinement of the Church’s tradition, more deepening of the treasures of the past”.
Another cardinal who recognizes these treasures of the past is Cardinal Burke, born in Wisconsin 75 years ago. The conservative prelate, and one of the greatest defenders of traditional liturgy, has stressed the importance of “asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel. It is especially important given the crucial decisions that will be made in the coming days and weeks for the good of the Church and the whole world”. Although always faithful to the Holy Father, Burke has on more than one occasion raised his voice in the face of the most glaring misunderstandings of Francis’ pontificate. Not for nothing did he present several dubias to the Pope in recent years.
For his part, cardinal Joseph Zen of China, in stronger terms, stated in one of his interventions: “The Church is in a crucial moment of confusion and division, and a grave responsibility now rests on the shoulders of our brother cardinals in the next conclave: to give us a Pope who, with the help of the Holy Spirit, can lead us once again to harmony and peace”. The Asian prelate, a fierce critic of the communist regime, has made a great effort to participate in the General Congregations in Rome. Precisely because of his opposition to communism, he has barely managed to obtain a 10-day permit to leave China. In the midst of the controversy is the name of Parolin, who in some way has been behind the Holy See’s agreements with the Chinese regime.
This longed-for peace, this harmony that the Church needs, also rang out during Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily in the “Pro Eligendo Pontifice” Mass, held on Wednesday, May 7th at St Peter’s. The Dean of the College of Cardinals used his words —the last to be heard before the conclave voted— to remind the electors that they must choose “the Pope who best knows how to awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual forces in today’s society, characterized by great technological progress but prone to forget God”.
The Church seeks for a Pope with memory —one who remembers God at least as much as the city of Rome still remembers its bishop, Francis. We pray that Leo XIV will be.
