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At the age of 88, Jorge Bergoglio has passed away, marking the end of a transformative era for the Catholic Church. Throughout his papacy, Francis gave the Church a significant social shift, opening its doors wider to women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and marginalized communities, while navigating the persistent internal battles between progressive and conservative factions.
Only yesterday, the Pope greeted the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square from the popemobile, just days before the announcement of his death by the Vatican.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1937, Francis’s health had been in decline since 2021. His death brings to a close an extraordinary chapter in Church history, one that began when a humble Argentine priest, known for his worn black shoes and simple silver cross, ended the longstanding European domination of the papacy. Upon his election in 2013, Francis remarked, “My brother cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth to find me.”
As the first Latin American and Jesuit Pope — the 266th successor of St. Peter according to Catholic tradition — Francis set a disruptive and modernizing tone for his papacy almost immediately. He took the name of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of the poor and of nature, refused the luxuries of the Apostolic Palace, and instead chose to live in the modest Vatican guesthouse, Santa Marta. His plain, direct manner of speaking established him as a “pastor pope” and a charismatic communicator, though it also earned him powerful enemies, particularly among conservatives.
AN ADVOCATE FOR LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUALS, WOMEN, AND MIGRANTS
Through his encyclicals and official documents, Francis charted a new course for the Church, addressing socioeconomic, political, and ecological issues with a fresh perspective.
His 2013 apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel offered a searing critique of capitalism, while the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ denounced modern anthropocentrism and called for environmental stewardship. He also reformed the Roman Curia with Praedicate Evangelium, emphasizing evangelization and decentralizing power away from Rome toward local dioceses.
Much like Pope John Paul II had played a role in the fall of communism, Francis sought to bridge the divide between the global North and South, making the defense of migrants one of his central causes. His appeals often resonated even with secular and atheist circles. “Our obsession with the insignificant and the ephemeral leads to indifference toward others, to a globalization of indifference,” he once warned.
OPENING THE CHURCH
Francis envisioned a Church more open to the marginalized — divorced and remarried Catholics, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women. His tenure saw concrete steps: in 2023, women were granted voting rights in major synods for the first time, same-sex couples received official blessings, and divorced individuals were allowed access to sacraments. Yet some progressives criticized him for not fully dismantling older taboos, such as priestly celibacy and the exclusion of women from key leadership roles.
DIPLOMACY AND GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGES
In global diplomacy, Francis sought rapprochement with China and maintained dialogue with Russia even after its invasion of Ukraine — efforts that drew both praise and significant criticism. The Vatican’s diplomatic limitations were exposed by the lack of concrete results, particularly as relations with Moscow cooled after initial historical engagements, such as the 2016 meeting with Patriarch Kirill in Cuba — the first between a Catholic Pope and a Russian Orthodox Patriarch since the Great Schism of 1054.
INTERNAL CONFLICTS AND CHALLENGES
Francis’s efforts to promote interreligious dialogue were another hallmark of his papacy. He made significant overtures to Muslim-majority nations and engaged with leaders of various faiths, culminating in the historic 2019 meeting in the UAE with Sunni scholars from Al-Azhar University. This initiative inspired the UN to establish February 4 as the International Day of Human Fraternity.
However, Francis also faced fierce opposition, particularly from within the Church. Internal wars, most notably between the progressive German Church and conservative American clergy, hindered deeper structural reforms. His papacy often saw a tug-of-war between forces pushing for modernization and those clinging to tradition.
Francis also grappled with the continuing crisis of sexual abuse scandals within the Church, an issue he inherited largely from the John Paul II era. He strengthened Vatican laws, created the Secretariat for the Economy to clean up Church finances, and even presided over the trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, accused of embezzlement.
Health Decline and Final Days
Signs of his deteriorating health became evident from 2021 onward. That year, he underwent surgery to remove part of his colon and spent ten days in hospital. In 2022, knee problems forced him to cancel a trip to Africa. In March 2023, he was hospitalized again due to an infectious bronchitis. Fatigue and fever continued to plague him, leading to multiple schedule suspensions in 2023.
THE NEXT CHAPTER: ELECTING A NEW POPE
With the Pope’s death, the Church enters the period known as sede vacante, during which the College of Cardinals administers the Church and prepares to elect a new Pontiff. The conclave must be convened within 15 to 20 days. Currently, 138 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote.
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