The Legacy of Pope Francis

Pope Francis brought a powerful spotlight to the issue. Sisters hope the new pope will continue that momentum.

In 2018, Pope Francis visited the San Joaquín women's prison in Chile. Sr. Lourdes López Munguía recounts how his gaze and a heartfelt song by the inmates left an indelible mark on those who experienced that encounter.

The Conference of Women Religious India said that Pope Francis had given them "more strength, dignity and space in the church." Sisters told Global Sisters Report about their memories of Francis and his impact on them. 

Many on the margins felt like Pope Francis was the last world leader defending them. Now, with a conclave ahead, sisters in social ministries say they hope the next pope shares Francis' preference for the poor.

We asked panelists: What can we learn through, from and for nature? What kind of threat does climate change pose to peace? What are you doing to change it? Responses reflect the living legacy of Pope Francis' love for creation.

No one doubted the late pope's commitment to a peaceful solution in Ukraine. But even among Ukraine's small Catholic community, some felt that Francis was not robust enough in his condemnation of Russia.

Religious sisters said that Francis consistently demonstrated a profound concern for the poor in Africa, reflecting his broader commitment to the marginalized worldwide. 

"Francis was a shepherd who 'smelled of the sheep,'" writes theologist Consuelo Vélez, reflecting on his pontificate's legacy and impact.

Sisters in Latin America reflect on the fertile seed Francis planted along the paths of religious life in Latin America.

Despite hopes for potential sainthood, in Argentina, "we cry because we did not fully understand or appreciate the extent of his global leadership," said an Argentine priest.

Pope Francis was a prophet for the earth. It was through his teachings in "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," that I came to see farming as a sacred calling. Laudato Si' also inspired collaboration here in Kenya.

Cientos de miles despidieron al papa Francisco en el Vaticano. El sencillo funeral fue una despedida apropiada para un pontífice que, apenas tres días después de su sorpresiva elección, hace 12 años, expresó su deseo de ‘una Iglesia pobre y para los pobres’ y que, a lo largo de su pontificado, propuso una Iglesia de puertas abiertas, de "todos, todos, todos": santos y pecadores.

Perhaps because Pope Francis, with his pulmonary fragility, knew what it was like to struggle for breath, in the maturity of his life he helped the church to breathe.

 Sisters at the United Nations and in global ministries hope the new pope will honor Francis' legacy by sharing his priorities and concern for the marginalized.

Many young people who had planned to attend the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, were among those who paid their respects to the late pontiff April 26. 

A simplified papal funeral will make a fitting farewell for a pontiff who just three days after his surprise election expressed his desire for "a church that is poor and for the poor."

La Hna. Teodozija Mostepaniuk recoge el agradecimiento de muchos de sus compatriotas ucranianos al papa Francisco: por gestionar la liberación de prisioneros y la repatriación de niños, y la valoración positiva que en Ucrania se hace del apoyo del pontífice a los marginados y oprimidos. La religiosa destaca además la contribución del papa a la defensa de los derechos de las mujeres consagradas contra los abusos en la Iglesia. 

 

Después de convertirse en papa, Jorge Bergoglio no volvió a su país natal, pero mantuvo a la Argentina cerca de su corazón. Aunque algunos compatriotas le reprocharon esta ausencia física, otros muchos mantenían la esperanza de una visita papal, entre ellos la Hna. Susana Vanni, para quien las marcadas divisiones políticas en su nación y luego la salud agravada del pontífice dificultaron este encuentro. "Francisco tenía clarísimo que todavía no era el momento oportuno", afirmó la religiosa de María Bambina. 

I'd received questions from my Ukrainian friends and relatives doubting the pope's stance toward their suffering. But on April 21, I read words of gratitude from many Ukrainians to Francis for his support and sympathy.

Maria Bambina Sr. Susana Vanni says Argentina's divisions, then Pope Francis' health, likely tilted against the longed-for papal visit to his native country.

Although Francis moved women into leadership roles in the Vatican, he continued to exclude women from ordained ministry in the church.

Los católicos de Latinoamérica observaron que el papa Francisco, el primero del nuevo mundo, trajo al Vaticano una nueva forma de hablar de Dios: cercanía con las periferias, impulso a la sinodalidad, defensa de la Amazonía, de los pueblos originarios y de los afrodescendientes, y reconocimiento de una Iglesia con rostro latinoamericano. "Era un papa latinoamericano... muy versado en una nueva eclesiología. Era un papa del pueblo. Quería construir una teología desde abajo, una teología de respeto a los vulnerables, de estar con los pobres", afirmó una religiosa colombiana.

 

"Some say he did not do enough; others criticize him for even meeting with people like me," said one transgender Catholic. "But he led by example. And in doing so he brought more hope, more love to the Catholic Church."

Catholic sisters and organizations mourn his loss and hail his legacy, particularly his attention to the marginalized.

Pope Francis, history's first pontiff from the Global South, has died at age 88 following a monthslong respiratory illness, setting the stage for a high-stakes secretive election to determine his successor.

The pope made ecological concern a cornerstone of his 12-year papacy and positioned care of creation as both a nonnegotiable pillar of the Christian faith and "essential to a life of virtue."

Catholics around the world expressed their sadness and non-Catholics sent their condolences upon hearing the news of Pope Francis' death at age 88 on Easter Monday.

Latin Americans observed that Pope Francis, the first pope from the new world, brought to the Vatican a new way of talking about God, lifting up causes and convictions that they shared.

Pope Francis, who elevated the status of women, and especially women religious, within the Catholic Church more than any pontiff in history, died early April 21. He was 88.

Pope Francis, a transformative figure who revitalized the hopes of millions of Catholics after decades of scandal, stagnation and increasing social irrelevancy for the global church, died April 21.