By Cristina Cabrejas
Vatican City, Apr 21 (EFE).— Pope Francis, who died Monday at the age of 88, was the pontiff of the underprivileged and an outspoken reformer.
He spent more than 12 years attempting to decentralize the Roman Curia, the administrative institutions of the Holy See, confront clerical abuse, and reframe the church’s voice around mercy and the marginalized.
Only time, and his successor, will reveal whether those efforts will endure.
The Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who passed away at 7:35 a.m. in his residence at Casa Santa Marta, made history when he was elected on Mar. 13, 2013, becoming the first non-European pope, the first Jesuit, and a cardinal chosen largely for his vision of a less centralized, more compassionate church.
A pope from the «end of the world»
Bergoglio introduced himself with a disarming “good afternoon” and joked that the cardinals had gone to “the end of the world” to choose the next Bishop of Rome.
To the faithful, he was seen as a moderate and a man of dialogue, though back home in Argentina he had opposed Kirchnerism, a left-wing political movement in Argentina rooted in the policies and leadership style of former presidents Néstor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. His opposition was over their stances on abortion and same-sex marriage.
A lover of tango and a supporter of San Lorenzo football club, Francis brought a personal touch to the papacy.
His time as pope followed the unprecedented resignation of Benedict XVI, which meant Francis led the church with his predecessor still living just meters away.
While Francis repeatedly described their relationship as warm, their co-existence often highlighted the ideological split within Catholicism: Francis’ more open, reformist approach contrasted with Benedict’s conservatism.
Champion of the poor
He chose the name Francis after Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes whispered to him in the Sistine Chapel, “Don’t forget the poor.” That idea became the cornerstone of his papacy, a “poor church for the poor.”
He removed privileges for cardinals, sought to bring transparency to Vatican finances, and pushed for reforms that won him both admiration and fierce opposition within the hierarchy.
One of his signature achievements was the promulgation of Praedicate Evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), a new apostolic constitution that reorganized Vatican governance, prioritized evangelization, and placed the economy ministry in charge of financial oversight to curb corruption.
Confronting abuse and changing tone
Francis also placed the fight against clerical sexual abuse at the center of his agenda. He introduced norms to improve accountability and urged bishops around the world to take action. However, recent scandals continued to show the church’s limitations in fully confronting the crisis.
He also changed how the Church speaks, introducing new language that emphasized the “existential peripheries,” a term he coined to highlight the need to reach out to the neglected and excluded.
Journeys to the margins
His first trip was symbolic: Lampedusa, the small Italian island on the migrant route from Africa to Europe. Over his papacy, he made 47 international trips, many to countries with tiny Catholic minorities, reinforcing his focus on global peripheries.
Under Francis, the church also began speaking more openly about welcoming homosexuals and divorced people who remarried.
Most controversially, he approved a document allowing blessings for same-sex couples, drawing strong backlash from conservative bishops and setting the stage for theological debates his successor will inherit.
From Buenos Aires to the Vatican
Born in 1936 in Buenos Aires to a family of Italian immigrants, Bergoglio began his religious life after studying chemistry. He was ordained in 1969 and later served in Germany and Córdoba during Argentina’s military dictatorship.
Known for his simplicity, Bergoglio lived alone in a small apartment as archbishop of Buenos Aires, and after becoming pope, he rejected the papal apartments for Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican residence for visiting clergy.
A pope who faced his critics head-on
Francis also broke tradition by directly confronting the church’s most ultraconservative factions. Among the more pointed attacks were a public letter from four cardinals expressing doubts about his writings and an anonymous memo later written by Australian Cardinal George Pell describing his papacy as “catastrophic.»
Yet Francis’ legacy is etched in his encyclicals, especially Laudato si’, which called for environmental stewardship and universal fraternity.
He passionately advocated for peace amid global conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, where his diplomatic efforts ultimately fell short.
His blunt criticisms of violence against Palestinians, including questioning whether a genocide was occurring in Gaza, also drew intense reactions.
An unfinished mission
Francis leaves behind a church that is more open and outspoken but also more divided. His efforts to reform doctrine, governance, and tone have energized some and alienated others.
As the church now enters the sede vacante, or «the seat being vacant,» the period before a new pope is elected, the world will watch to see whether his vision takes root—or is reined in. EFE
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