Public domain photo of his Holiness Pope Francis departs Malacañan Palace aboard a Pope Mobile after the Welcome Ceremony for the State Visit and Apostolic Journey to the Republic of the Philippines on Friday, January 16, 2015, by Benhur Arcayan, Malacañang Photo Bureau via Wikimedia.
Legacy of Pope Francis
The following is a brief excerpt from an article published on Apr. 28 on the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns website. https://mogc.me/PF
Pope Francis was laid to rest in a funeral Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on April 28. As we reflect on his 12-year pontificate, we celebrate a life and legacy rooted in Gospel values of mercy, social justice, and care for creation.
Landmark Encyclicals
Foremost among Francis’ achievements are his encyclicals, which boldly charted a moral vision for the Church in the 21st century. In Laudato Si’ (2015), he issued an historic appeal to care for “our common home,” confronting human-driven climate change through a spiritual and moral lens. More than a treatise on carbon emissions and climate, Laudato Si’ looks at the fundamental brokenness of our modern society and its rift with nature. The encyclical is a clarion call for all of humanity to right its relationship with God’s creation.
Another of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclicals was Fratelli Tutti (2020), on fraternity and social friendship in which he offered a remedy to social fragmentation: openness to love and kindness, rejection of war and the death penalty, and a commitment to dialogue and peace.
As mentioned in Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily at Pope Francis’ funeral, the first insight into Pope Francis’ vision for his pontificate was revealed in the exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2013), in which he encouraged Catholics to embrace the “joy of the Gospel,” go to the margins, and serve “a poor Church for the poor.” Maryknoll missioners resonated deeply with this call, seeing in it a renewal of the Church’s commitment to social justice and mission.
A Pilgrim Pope
In 12 years, Pope Francis visited over 60 countries on 47 apostolic trips, living out his vision of the Church as a “field hospital,” addressing the wounded in a broken world.
His first trip as pope was to the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, where he mourned African migrants lost at sea and decried a “globalization of indifference” to the suffering of migrants everywhere. This set the tone for a papacy on the move, where, from the favelas of Brazil to the refugee camps of Bangladesh, Francis sought out those on the margins.
For the rest of the article about Pope Francis’ legacy, particularly his record canonizations, voice for the marginalized, and voice for peace, visit the article online. https://mogc.me/PF