“We all have the duty
to do good.” 
Pope Francis I

Pope Francis was not your typical pope. He was down-to-earth. His papacy was characterized by his humility and his constant concern for the poor and vulnerable. Born in Argentina in 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. During his years as archbishop, unlike bishops and pastors I’ve known personally, he lived in a simple apartment, did his own cooking, and regularly relied on public transportation to get around town. To the best of his ability, he continued his minimalist lifestyle at the Vatican.

In February 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergoglio to the rank of cardinal. For the celebration of his installation to the College of Cardinals, he asked friends and loved ones not to travel to Rome for the ceremony. Instead, he asked that they donate whatever money they would have spent on that trip to the poor.

Bergoglio was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. He was the first pope from the Americas, and the first Jesuit elected to the papacy. 

In January 2014, my brother, Tom, a Jesuit priest who was living in Rome at the time, had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis. This image is one of my favorite photos of both Tom and Pope Francis.

All leaders face opposition from time to time. The stiffest resistance faced by Pope Francis came from ultra-conservative clerics in the United States for, among other things, softening the ban on giving Communion to divorced and civilly-remarried Catholics. It was heartwarming for me to realize that Francis understood the Eucharist to be an unconditional God-given gift, rather than a prize for those who complied with the man-made rules of the Church.

Of all the words attributed to Pope Francis during his papacy, I find his words about forgiveness to be the most impactful. He said, “The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.”

The next few weeks will certainly be interesting as the cardinals gather at the Vatican once again for a conclave to elect the next pope. Having recently seen the movie “Conclave,” I can only wonder if the backstabbing, plotting, and manipulation portrayed in that movie might play out again in real life.