Some of you may remember that one of my first Blog Posts was made on January 21, 2025. The title was Never Forget, Never Again, and I wrote it in observance of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2025, the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In his remarks on the day of remembrance about the horrors of Auschwitz, Pope Francis said:
… the horrors of Auschwitz must never be forgotten or denied…. Together let us build a more fraternal, just world, educating our young people to have hearts open to all, in the spirit of fraternity, forgiveness and peace.
In an extremely poignant twist of history, this week is yet another dedicated to the remembrance of the horrors and cruelty of the holocaust. Thursday, April 24, 2025, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. A ‘March of the Living’ took place at the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland. Sadly, the voice of Pope Francis will not be heard anew. Only those spoken years earlier are remembered because of the enduring strength of his papal legacy.
Throughout this week, the world is mourning the death of Pope Francis, a.k.a. the People’s Pope, and tributes are pouring in from countries and leaders across the globe. The week has become a remarkable time of reflection, reexamination and hopefully, Easter renewal. I have been watching a lot of television coverage and commentary and reading online everything I can. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday, a global venue for our expressions of grief and gratitude. I intend to follow it closely.
Dr. Gregory E. Sterling, the Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean, Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament and Dean of Yale Divinity School again articulated a graceful response to an event that has burdened the world with a global sense of grief. Writing a personal acknowledgement of Pope Francis, who has been rightfully acclaimed as the ‘conscience of the world,’ Sterling wrote:
Like many around the world, I am deeply saddened by the death of Pope Francis. I am grateful, too, for all he did to advance currents of Christianity that are too seldom seen today: his humility, his advocacy for the poor and marginalized, his prioritizing human need over institutional prerogative, his stand for the environment, and, among other welcome acts, his opening the Catholic world wider to women and others in ways no previous pontiff had done.
Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, wrote in his Substack account these words of gratitude and commendation yesterday (April 21, 2025):
Like many of you, I was moved by Pope Francis’s moral authority. At a time when moral leadership has been in short supply in the world — when authoritarians and neofascists are pushing us into darkness — Pope Francis pointed toward the light.
In sum, Pope Francis, using a moral authority in short supply these days, advanced currents of Christianity that have been too seldom seen and experienced. While much of the world was embracing the darkness, Francis pointed to the light.
For Pope Francis, “the light” was a powerful metaphor for the light of Christ and the resurrection of Jesus. It symbolized the faith and hope and God’s grace that illuminates and transforms both individuals and the world. He used the concept of “the light” to describe the guiding force of faith, the power of the Resurrection and the need for Christians to be witnesses of God’s love and mercy in a world often shrouded in darkness. In his final Easter homily, which was delivered on Holy Saturday by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, Francis proclaimed the resurrection of Christ as ‘the definitive turning point in human history.’ He then went on to say:
The risen Christ … is the hope that does not fade. He is the love that accompanies us and sustains us. He is the future of history, the ultimate destination towards which we walk, to be welcomed into that new life in which the Lord himself will wipe away all our tears and ‘death, mourning and crying and pain will be no more.
During the vigil, three people from Italy and Albania were baptized. The congregation prayed the Litany of the Saints and renewed their own baptismal promises.
While being a pastor in Coventry, I presided over hundreds of baptisms. This act of renewing our own baptismal promises was always very emotional. The words written by Pope Francis from his deathbed were truly inspiring.
In the risen Jesus we have the certainty that our personal history and that of our human family, albeit still immersed in a dark night where lights seem distant and dim, are nonetheless in God’s hands, the pope wrote. In his great love, he will not let us falter or allow evil to have the last word. When the thought of death lies heavy on our hearts … when we feel the wounds of selfishness or violence … let us not lose heart, …. The light quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness … and a new beginning, however impossible it might seem, can take us by surprise.
Finally, he then said that once taken by surprise, we are meant to be witnesses to the world with our words and small daily acts.
We can do this by our words, by our small daily acts, by decisions inspired by the Gospel. Our whole life can be a presence of hope. We want to be that presence for those who lack faith in the Lord … for those who have given up … for the poor and oppressed … for the unborn and for children who are mistreated, and for the victims of war. To each of them let us bring the hope of Easter!
If I may, please let me return to Dr. Sterling’s letter. He closed it with the following expression of hope.
Francis’s 12 years as Pope is one of the best things that happened for Christianity in the past half-century. May his legacy long outlive his papacy.
Amid the outpouring of grief and gratitude and the anxiety connected with the selection of a new Pope, the profoundly serious question of legacy and how it may long outlive his papacy hangs out there.
Maya Angelou once said: ‘If you are going to live, leave behind a legacy. Make an impact on the world that can never be erased.
What is Pope Francis’ legacy, and can it be erased?
Massimo Faggioli, Villanova University theology professor and founding director of the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship said the following about Francis’ legacy:
“This papacy, I believe, is a success because it’s not about Francis — it sounds obvious, but it’s about Jesus Christ.”
It is also about the Gospel narrative that shows Jesus to be the One who meets people where they are and as they are. In a recent New York Times interview by Ross Douthat and Father James Martin, one of the most famous Catholic priests in the United States, Martin says:
One of the things that Pope Francis is trying to teach — and I think is Christian teaching — is encountering the person where they are and as they are. And he said the name of God is mercy. …. I would say that one of his most memorable images was the church as a field hospital, which he used in an interview with America Media in 2013.
I’d never heard that before and it’s such a great image. I always think of “M*A*S*H,” the old TV show. It’s open, people are coming in, they’re getting their wounds dressed, they’re getting treated. There’s more transparency. It’s focusing on people who are wounded.
… the title of one of the working documents (of his papacy) was “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent,” which I thought was so beautiful. And so, I think one of the things that Pope Francis was trying to do is to reach out exactly to people like that, who might be curious and not understand the church, (who are the victims in this world) and say:
“Welcome. This is about mercy and love, and you’re welcome here.”
The legacy of Pope Francis is Jesus and his ministry of hope and kindness, truth and touch, compassion and care, an abundant welcome and a love that is attentive and healing. One of his most often cited quotes reads as follows:
A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
Today we remember a darkness that is the shame of humanity and history. Our grief is still profound and what happened and to whom must never be forgotten or denied. However, we also remember this week the legacy of a pope whose light still shines, especially in the darkness of these days. As followers of Jesus, we perpetuate the legacy and reveal the presence of this light through our lives, a light that can never be overcome by the darkness and a light that serves as a metaphor for a never to be forgotten or denied legacy.
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8: 12, NRSVE)