When Pope Francis was elected in March of 2013, I volunteered to write St. Anthony Messenger’s first article about our new pontiff. With all due respect, I never quite warmed to his predecessor. But in him taking the name Francis, I knew I had found the pope of my dreams.
As Shakespeare once asked, “What’s in a name?” As Francis illustrated throughout his papacy, it means a lot. “Some people want to know why I wished to be called Francis,” he said in an interview. “For me, Francis of Assisi is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.” In his 12 years as pope, Francis lived up to his name, guiding our Church with the mind of a Jesuit and the heart of a Franciscan.
When he died in April, Catholics the world over felt unsure and unmoored. I certainly did. And although we have no way of knowing the road ahead, we can look back on the road behind us and marvel at how this brilliant, compassionate, flawed, and funny priest from Argentina managed to reform the Church and renew our sense of purpose as a global community of believers.
Thank you, Pope Francis, for your service. We are better for it.
