By Salvatore Cernuzio
Pope Francis became the first of many things. The first Jesuit pope, the first pope from Latin America, the first one to choose the name Francis, the first to be elected with his predecessor still alive, the first to live outside the Apostolic Palace, the first to visit lands never reached before by a pope – from Iraq to Corsica – the first to sign a Declaration on Human Fraternity with one of the highest religious authorities of the Muslim world.
He was also the first Pope to establish a Council of Cardinals to govern the Church, assign roles of responsibility to women and lay people in the Curia, initiate a Synod prepared by a worldwide consultation with the people of God, the first one to abolish the pontifical secrecy for sexual abuse cases, and to formally remove the death penalty from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
He led the Church during a time marked by many wars, small and large, fought in “piecemeal” across different continents. He said war is “always a defeat,” as he repeated in over 300 appeals, even when his voice faltered, in his hundreds of public statements after the outbreak of violence in Ukraine and the Middle East.
New paths and processes
However, Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, likely would not have wanted the concept of “first” to be associated with his pontificate, which over these 12 years was not focused on reaching milestones or breaking records but on initiating “processes.”
Ongoing processes, completed processes, or distant processes, which will likely be irreversible even for whoever succeeds him as Successor of Peter.
They marked actions generating “new processes” in society and in the Church as he wrote in the “roadmap” for his pontificate, Evangelii Gaudium – always within the perspective of encounter, exchange, and collegiality.
From the ends of the earth
“And now, we take up this journey: Bishop and People,” were the first words spoken from the Central Loggia of St Peter’s Basilica, on the late evening of Mar 13 2013, to a crowd that had filled St Peter’s Square for a month under the spotlight following the resignation of Benedict XVI.
To that crowd the newly elected 76-year-old Pope, chosen by the Cardinal Electors “from the ends of the earth,” asked for a blessing. He wanted to lead a Hail Mary with the people and struggled with his Italian he had not been speaking regularly, given his rare visits to Rome.
The following day, he wished to greet the people up close during a visit to the Vatican’s Parish of Sant’Anna. He then went by car to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major where he visited the chapel with the icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani, protectress of the Roman people.
He continued to pay visits to the Liberian Basilica throughout his pontificate for prayer and to express his gratitude at every important moment. And it was the church where Pope Francis expressed his wish to be buried.
A shepherd among the people
Pope Francis showed his closeness to the people, a legacy of his Argentine ministry, in many ways over the following years: with visits to Vatican employees in their offices, with the Fridays of Mercy during the 2016 Jubilee in places of marginalization and exclusion, with Holy Thursday Masses celebrated in prisons, nursing homes, and reception centres, with a long tour of parishes in the Roman suburbs, and with surprise visits and phone calls to people of all walks of life.
He demonstrated this in every Apostolic Journey, starting with his first one to Brazil in 2013, a trip he inherited from Pope Benedict, where the image of the popemobile caught up in the crowds marked a memorable moment.
First Pope to visit Iraq
Pope Francis made 47 international pilgrimages in response to invitations at events and celebrations, special invitations from authorities, or to fulfil a long-standing desire of his, as he revealed during his return flight from Iraq in 2021 during the Covid pandemic.
He spent three days in the country amidst general concerns about security, visiting Baghdad, Ur, Erbil, Mosul, and Qaraqosh, still bearing the visible scars of terrorism, with bloodstains on walls and tents of displaced people along the roads.
Many had advised him against the visit, due to sanitary concerns and the risk of terrorist attacks, but he insisted on making it. It was “the most beautiful” journey, as Pope Francis himself always said. He was the first Pope to set foot on the land of Abraham, where John Paul II was unable to go, and to have a meeting with the Shiite religious leader Al-Sistani.
The Holy Door in Bangui and the longest trip in Southeast Asia and Oceania
With the same resolve in 2015 he went to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, ravaged by a years-long civil war that left dead bodies on the streets even during the visit.
In the African nation, where he said he wanted to go even if it meant “jumping out of a plane,” Francis opened the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy in a moving ceremony , marking the first Holy Year to be opened not in Rome, but in one of the poorest regions of the world.
That same determination also led to his decision to undertake, at the age of 87, the longest journey of his pontificate in Sep 2024: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. For two weeks the Pope travelled through two continents, four time zones and four different worlds, each representing key themes of his magisterium: fraternity and interreligious dialogue, peripheries and climate emergency, reconciliation and faith, wealth and development in service of the poor.
From Lampedusa to Juba
Among the Apostolic Journeys and pastoral visits, one cannot forget the first journey outside Rome to the small Italian island of Lampedusa, a site of many migrant tragedies where he threw a wreath of flowers into the Mediterranean, “an open-air cemetery.” This issue was raised again in the two journeys to the Greek island of Lesbos (2016 and 2021) during his visits to refugee camps.
Other memorable Apostolic Journeys included to the visit to the Holy Land (2014), to Sweden, in Lund (2016) for the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, and to Canada (2022) with his apology to the First Nations people for the abuses commited in the past in Church-run residential schools.
And then came his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan (2023), the latter shared together with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Ian Greenshields, to emphasize the ecumenical desire to heal the wounds of a people. The same wounds he had asked South Sudanese leaders to heal, when he invited them for a two-day retreat at Santa Marta, and which concluded with his poignant gesture of kissing their feet.
His visit to Cuba and the United States in 2015 led to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries after decades of tensions.
Pope Francis had worked for this historic event for months, sending letters to both U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban Raúl Castro to urge them to “start a new phase.” President Obama himself publicly thanked him for those efforts.
In Havana, Pope Francis also met with Patriarch Kirill signing a joint declaration to implement the “ecumenism of charity,” the commitment of Christians to a more fraternal world. This commitment tragically became relevant years later with the outbreak of the war in the heart of Europe.
The signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi
In 2019 Pope Francis travelled to Abu Dhabi , United Araba Emirates, where he co-signed the Document on Human Fraternity with the Grand Imam al-Tayeb, marking the culmination of relations with the Sunni University of Al-Azharand and a cornerstone of Christian-Muslim dialogue, now also incorporated into several documents.
The Encyclicals
The dialogues and gestures made during these travels reflected in his writings. During his pontificate he wrote four Encyclical Letters, the first of which was ‘Lumen Fidei’ on the theme of faith, which he had written with late Pope Benedict XVI.
The Encyclica was followed in 2015 by ‘Laudato si’’, a cry for the Earth calling for a “change of course” for our “common home” devastated by climate change and exploitation, and urging action to eradicate poverty and ensure equitable access to the planet’s resources.
The third Encyclical, ‘Fratelli Tutti’, a cornerstone of his magisterium following the Abu Dhabi Document, was a prophecy of fraternity as the only way for the future of humanity.
Finally, in 2024 he issued ‘Dilexit Nos’, which revisited tradition and the current relevance of the “human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus” sending a message to the world that seems to have lost its heart.
Apostolic Exhortations and Motu Proprio Letters
Pope Francis wrote seven Apostolic Exhortations, starting from the ‘Evangelii Gaudium ‘in 2013 to ‘C’est la Confiance’, published in 2023 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Therese of Lisieux.
In-between he issued three Post-Synodal Exhortations – ‘Amoris Laetitia’ (Synod on the Family), ‘Christus Vivit’ (Synod on Young People), ‘Querida Amazonia ‘ (Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region) –, and then ‘Gaudete et Exsultate’ on the call to holiness in the contemporary world, and finally, ‘Laudate Deum’, the follow-up to Laudato si’ integating his call to listen to the cry of Mother Earth before reaching a “breaking point.”
Pope Francis also signed nearly sixty “Motu proprio” Letters aimed at reconfiguring the structures of the Roman Curia and the territory of the Diocese of Rome, modifying Canon Law and the Vatican judicial system, issuing more stringent norms and procedures for the fight against abuses on children and vulnerable people in the Church.
Among them was ‘Vos Estis Lux Mundi’, a document that incorporated the recommendations and suggestions emerged from the Vatican’s Summit on the Protection of Minors, held in Feb 2019. That landmark summit was the culmination of the Church’s efforts to combat clerical abuses, not just sexual, and an expression of the Church’s desire to act with truth and transparency in a penitential manner.
In ‘Vos estis lux mundi’ Pope Francis established new procedures for reporting abuses and introduced the concept of accountability, ensuring that bishops and religious superiors are held responsible for their actions.
The reform of the Roman Curia
Church reform was a central concern throughout his pontificate. He took to heart the recommendations made by the Cardinals during pre-conclave congregations, asking that the future pope restructure the Roman Curia and especially the Vatican’s finances, which had been the centre of scandals for years.
Immediately after his election, Pope Francis established a Council of Cardinals, the C9 (which later became C6 and C8 with the changing of members), a small “cabinet” to assist him in governing the universal Church and working on the reform of the Curia.
Mergers of departments and other changes in titles and organizational structures reflected this ongoing work which culminated in the publication of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium in 2022.
Among the most significant innovations introduced by this eagerly-awaited document was the establishment of a new Dicastery for Evangelization, directly headed by the Pope, and the involvement of laypeople “in leadership and responsibility roles.”
This wave of change also included the appointment of the first lay person, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, at the head of the Dicastery for Communication, the appointment of the first woman as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Sister Simona Brambilla, and of the first woman as Governor of Vatican City, Sister Raffaella Petrini.
Women in the Church
The role of women in Church and society was indeed an important concern for Pope Francis. The late Pope entrusted women with important leadership roles more than any previous Pope, established two commissions to study women deacons, and he constantly reminded the Church of the feminine “genius” and its maternal dimension. He placed nuns, missionaries, professors, and theologians alongside cardinals and bishops at the tables of the Synod on Synodality, granting them, for the first time, the right to vote.
“Everyone, everyone, everyone”
A key hallmark of his pontificate was his emphasis on “openness”, though not in the form of dramatic ruptures from tradition or radical leaps forward. Instead,, his approach centred on initiating inclusive processes within the Church.
This spirit of openness was reflected in several significant pastoral decisions and initiatives. One such example was the more inclusive treatment of divorced and remarried individuals, particularly in their access to the sacraments. Rather than viewing the Eucharist solely as a “nourishment for the perfect” it was reconceptualized as a “medicine for sinners”, embodying a more compassionate and restorative theological stance.
This inclusive vision extended further, especially in the Church’s evolving approach to LGBTQ+ individuals. A clear call for pastoral closeness and welcome was issued, grounded in the belief that there is a place in the Church for “everyone, everyone, everyone”, as he often repeated.
The same idea inspired his unwavering efforts to foster interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, seeking reconciliation and mutual understanding among Christian denominations and other faiths. This effort was often framed through the lens of an “ecumenism of blood”, acknowledging shared suffering and martyrdom across Christian traditions, which served as a unifying force against centuries of prejudice and division.
Also, his focus on China, with the provisional Agreement on the appointment of bishops, signed in 2019 and renewed three times, marked important steps in dialogue, despite setbacks and challenges, with a “noble people” he had long wished to visit.
Missionary and synodal themes
The theme of mission, or “missionary” work, was central to Pope Francis’ pontificate. He frequently called for “synodality,” a term that resonated throughout these twelve years. He dedicated two Synod sessions (2023 and 2024) to synodality, renewing the structure and function of the synodal assembly, realizing the necessity of beginning the synodal journey “from grass-root level” and establishing ten study groups to explore doctrinal, theological, and pastoral themes following the sessions.
The poor and migrants
Pope Francis’ pontificate will be remembered for some key words encapsulating entire ecclesial, political, and social realities: “throwaway culture,” “globalization of indifference,” “a poor Church for the poor,” “an outgoing Church,” “shepherds with the smell of the sheep,” “a global ethic of solidarity.”
His constant concern for the poor and marginalized led him to establish, in 2017, a special Day for the Poor in which he hosted special lunches with the homeless in the Paul VI Hall.
The late Pope spoke out boldly on the phenomenon of migration with the four verbs “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate,” providing guidelines to address what he termed “one of the greatest tragedies of this century.”
Commitment to peace
Ending wars was a constant concern he addressed with impassioned appeals for peace, letters to nuncios and populations affected by violence, and consolation provided through video calls – notably his daily calls to the parish of the Holy Family in Gaza – or missions he entrusted to cardinals and the sending of essential goods. “I never thought I would be a Pope during a time of war,” he confided in his first and only podcast with Vatican media on the anniversary of his election. His message was clear: ongoing conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa can be resolved only by mediating “honourable compromises” for all sides.
Peace was a goal for which Pope Francis constantly asked for prayers. He established days of fasting and prayer for Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, South Sudan, , the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Holy Land, involving the faithful worldwide
In 2022 he consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He organized historic moments such as the planting of an olive tree in the Vatican Gardens on 8 June 2014, with the Presidents of Israel and Palestine, Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas.
He also took unconventional initiatives for peace, as when he visited the Russian Ambassador in the Vatican, Alexander Avdeev, the day after the first bomb was dropped by the Russians on Kyiv, seeking to open dialogue with President Putin and offer mediation.
Pope Francis repeatedly called on world leaders to dialogue and work for peace, saying everyone will answer before God for the tears shed among the people. He denounced the flourishing arms trade, proposing the use of military spending for a global fund to fight hunger. He called for the building of bridges instead of walls, urging the prioritization of the common good over military strategies, sometimes facing criticism and misinterpretation for these words.
Innovations
Over the years criticism against him came up frequently and Pope Francis responded with humour, an attitude, he said, that can “draw us to God’s grace.”
His unique pastoral style, putting aside protocols and old customs, even choosing a different residence in the Vatican and cancelling the traditional papal summer vacation at Castel Gandolfo, questioned and surprised many.
He frequently appeared on live web broadcasts and television programmes, using the Twitter account @Pontifex in nine languages as a channel for immediate and widely read messages.
Difficult moments and health issues
During these busy years, there were also difficult moments, including trials – the long and complex case involving the management of the Holy See’s funds – the Vatileaks 2 scandal, cases of abuse and corruption, and the publication of controversial book on the Vatican.
He also faced health issues, with surgeries at the Gemelli Hospital in 2021 and 2023, and a 2023 hospitalization for respiratory complications, followed by frequent colds, flu, and knee pain that in recent years required the use of a wheelchair.
Statistical data
Despite difficulties, Pope Francis’ intense activity and presence at events never waned. Some statistics illustrate this reality: over 500 general audiences, ten consistories for the creation of 163 new cardinals that created a universal character to the Church’s reality; over 900 canonizations (including three predecessors: John XXIII, John Paul II, Paul VI); special years, such as those for Consecrated Life (2015-2016), Saint Joseph (2020-2021), and the Family (2021-2022); and four World Youth Days: Rio de Janeiro, Krakow, Panama, Lisbon. Two Jubilees: the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 and the ordinary one in 2025, which is ongoing with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The Statio Orbis during the Covid pandemic
Pope Francis sought closeness with the public even through interviews, books, prefaces, and autobiographies, but perhaps one of the most poignant expressions of this closeness is the image of him limping alone in the rain in an empty St. Peter’s Square during the Statio Orbis on Mar 27 2020. The world, locked down by the Covid -19 pandemic saw live an elderly man seemingly bearing the weight of a tragedy that had turned everyday life upside down. Humanity was suffering, but the Pope spoke of hope and fraternity: ““We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together.” – Vatican News
