When Jorge Mario Bergoglio first stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in 2013 as Pope Francis, the world instantly sensed that something was different.
He wasn’t wrapped in pomp. He wasn’t guarded by distance. Instead, he chose a simple wave, a quiet smile, and a greeting that felt personal:
“Buona sera” (Good evening).
And just like that, the Church and the world knew a new kind of leader had arrived. One who would walk with the wounded, not above them.
A Humble Beginning, A Revolutionary Papacy
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, Pope Francis would go on to break many “firsts”: the first Jesuit pope, the first from Latin America, and the first from the Global South.
He chose the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, signaling to the world that his papacy would be rooted in humility, care for the poor, and love for creation.
But it wasn’t just words. Francis refused the luxury of the Apostolic Palace, opting instead for a modest guesthouse, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he could live simply among others.
He reminded the Church that it should be less a fortress and more a field hospital, rushing out to the wounded instead of waiting for them to come.
“Reality is more important than ideas,” he often said. And he lived it.
Walking with the Marginalized
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis was a tireless voice for the forgotten and the voiceless.
- In Lampedusa, he mourned the lives of migrants lost at sea.
- In Lesbos, he embraced refugees fleeing war and poverty.
- In prisons and slums, he washed feet, blessed foreheads, and offered dignity where the world had given up.
“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just,” he taught, and his actions made that mercy tangible.
Championing Our Planet and Our People
Pope Francis didn’t just talk about compassion for humans. He extended it to creation itself.
In 2015, through his encyclical Laudato Si’, he called the world to wake up to climate change, framing it not just as an environmental crisis, but a moral one.
And in 2023, he doubled down with Laudate Deum, warning leaders that indifference was no longer an option.
He saw that the cries of the Earth and the cries of the poor were deeply connected.
Francis also challenged economic injustice, calling out the “economy of exclusion” where profit outweighed human dignity.
He urged nations to rethink arms sales, asking bluntly: “Why are deadly weapons sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering?”
Changing the Church from the Inside
Even within the Vatican walls, Francis was quietly revolutionary.
- He appointed more women to influential positions than any pope before him.
- He opened new conversations about inclusion, especially towards LGBTQ+ individuals, preaching that “everyone is part of God’s creation.”
- His 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos celebrated the unifying love of Jesus and called for healing in a divided world.
It wasn’t about radical change for the sake of headlines, it was about seeing everyone with the eyes of love, just as Christ would.
A Legacy Written in Encounters
For Pope Francis, change wasn’t built through grand speeches, it happened through small encounters.
Through listening. Through hugging a sick child, comforting a prisoner, or quietly praying with a mother who had lost everything.
He often said:
“Encounter is the oxygen of life.”
And he lived that truth to his very last day.
Saying Goodbye to a True Shepherd
On April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, Pope Francis passed away peacefully.
His funeral in St. Peter’s Square drew millions, from presidents to refugees, from CEOs to street sweepers, all united by the simple truth he lived: that love has no barriers.
He was buried, according to his wish for simplicity, in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the place where he often went quietly to pray before his big missions.
