2025-05-02-eEdition

THE CATHOLICWEEK I MAY 2, 2025 PAGE 9 POPE FRANCIS: 1936-2025 By CINDYWOODEN Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88 gave new energy to millions of Catholics —and caused concern for some—as he transformed the image of the papacy into a pastoral ministry based on per- sonal encounters and strong convictions about mission, poverty, immigration and dialogue. U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, cham- berlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced that Pope Francis had died at 7:35 a.m. "His whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and his church," Cardinal Farrell said in a video an- nouncement broadcast from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived and where he was recovering from pneumonia and respira- tory infections. He had been released from Rome's Gemelli hospital March 23 after more than five weeks of treatment. Pope Francis "taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, cour- age and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized," Cardinal Farrell said. "With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God." The day before his death, the pope had appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to give his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). His voice was weak and he had trouble raising his arm to make the sign of the cross, but afterward he got into the popemobile and drove through the crowds in St. Peter's Square. Pope Francis was often practical and even poetic when speaking about family life, the environment and ministry in the church, but those also were the areas where he frequently unleashed the per- plexity and even ire of some Catholics, who were convinced he was trying to change church teaching or practice. The initial popularity of his pon- tificate began to be offset by caution and criticism from some sectors of the church, particularly because of the open- ness he showed toward gay Catholics and toward divorced and civilly remar- ried Catholics.While insisting he was not changing church teaching, he also insisted Catholics and their parishes must welcome all people seeking God with a sincere heart. His insistence at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023 that in the church there is room for "todos, todos, todos"—"everyone, everyone, everyone" —became a frequent affirmation for the rest of his pontificate. The iconic images of Pope Fran- cis' papacy were photographs of him embracing the sick, washing the feet of prisoners and eating with the poor. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the image switched to photos of Pope Francis, standing alone in an empty St. Peter's Square in the rain, verbalizing the fear many people felt, calling upon the Lord's help to end the pandemic and raising a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament to bless the city and the world. The first major health scare of his pontificate came in July 2021 when, after reciting the Sunday Angelus, he went to Rome's Gemelli hospital for what the Vatican said was pre-scheduled colon surgery.The three-hour opera- tion included a left hemicolectomy, the removal of the descending part of the colon, a surgery that can be recommend- ed to treat diverticulitis, when bulging pouches in the lining of the intestine or colon become inflamed or infected.The pope remained in the hospital 10 days. Two years later, he was back at Gemelli for what the Vatican said was surgery to correct a hernia. He was taken to the hospital June 7 after his weekly general audience. Throughout his pontificate, he oc- casionally canceled events because of bouts of sciatica, a sharp pain that radi- ates along the path of the sciatic nerve from the lower back and down each leg. But, beginning in late December 2020, he also started having difficulty with his right knee. He later said the problem was a torn ligament and, by early May 2022, he was regularly using a wheel- chair.The knee problem also forced him to cancel several events and to postpone a trip to Congo and South Sudan, which he finally made Jan. 31-Feb. 5, 2023. God's mercy was a constant theme in his preaching and was so central to his vision of what the church's ministry must embody that he led an extraordi- nary Holy Year of Mercy in 2015-16. Elected March 13, 2013, the Argen- tine cardinal was the first pope in history to come from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European elected in CNS photo/Paul Haring Pope Francis kisses 5-month-old Therese Schultzeten as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 14, 2015. Pope Francis guided with a pastor's touch See POPE FRANCIS, Page 12