Pope Francis: A spiritual titan

Born on December 17, 1936, as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, his dad was Mario José, an Italian immigrant accountant. His mom, Regina Sivori, a housewife, born in Buenos Aires, had five children and the future pope was the oldest child. To escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, the family of Mario Bergoglio went to Buenos Aire in 1929. 

Bergoglio went as a teenager to a technical secondary school and graduated with a “chemical technician’s diploma,” (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis#).  He worked as a janitor and as a bouncer. He then took a position for several years in the food section of Hickethier Bachmann Laboratory. When 21 years old, Bergoglio had pneumonia and had part of his lung excised, hence his health problems as he got older.

As a seminarian, Bergoglio had a crush on a girl that lasted briefly, however, he made the decision to become a priest. After three years at the Immaculada Concepción Seminary in Villa Devoto, Bueno Aires, he decided to join the Jesuits on March 11, 1958. In 1960, Bergoglio made perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a member of the Society of Jesus. 

In 1967, Bergoglio commenced his studies in theology and Archbishop Ramón Castellano ordained him a priest. He then became a theology professor. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1973 but left hastily by the outbreak of the Yom Kipper War.  

Named as archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997, he restructured the archdiocese, assigned priests to work in the slums of shantytowns and visited them himself. For this reason, he became known as the “slum bishop.” He often celebrated foot-wishing rituals on Holy Thursday in hospitals, jails, slums, and retirement homes (see Wikipedia as noted above).

In 2001, Pope John Paul II installed him as a cardinal and appointed him to five administrative positions in the Roman Curia. He became known for his commitment to social justice, used public transportation, cooked his own meals, and lived in a small apartment as opposed to the elegant bishop’s residence.

A papal conclave chose him to be the Pope on March 13, 2013. He took the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). As Pope Francis, he made women “full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia (Wikipedia). He stated that there are things that only women understand and felt that an all-male theology is an incomplete theology. 

Francis maintains that the Catholic Church should be more sympathetic “toward members of the LGBTQ community, stated that while blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, individuals can be blessed as long as blessings are not given in a liturgical context.” (Wikipedia). 

Francis sees the death penalty as “intrinsically evil,” called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, and helped “restore full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba.” He apologized for the role of the church in the “cultural genocide” of the Canadian Indigenous peoples. Francis also negotiated a deal with China “to define how much influence the Communist Party has in appointing Chinese bishops,” plus he has supported the cause of refugees globally.  

From the early days of his papacy, Francis called for a two-state solution grounded in mutual recognition between Israelis and Palestinians. He condemned the “unbearable suffering in Gaza, decrying the Israeli bombing campaign as disproportionate and calling for humanitarian ceasefire.” (see https:www.juancole.com/2025/04/franciss-enduring-palestine.html). Francis felt that the other is not a threat, but a neighbor. He once quipped that “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”

In 2015, Francis wrote the book, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 176 pp). He noted that global climate change looms large as the greatest threat to the survival of planet Earth. Francis spoke about “ecological conversion” meaning that we as individuals and as a community must drastically change our lifestyles, our eating habits and our models of consumption and production. 

Francis notes that we are all sisters and brothers since “we have God as our common Father.” He asserts that the fires raging in California may be harbingers of a planetary fire age. Also, instead of putting trillions of dollars into an arms race, (including building more nuclear bombs that would devastate the planet), by the US, Russia, and other countries, it would make more sense to put the money into helping poor countries and our own in taking steps to lessen the effects of global climate change.

Pope Francis has compassion for all, particularly the poor and downtrodden. He has become the most influential person on the planet in bringing about world peace. He has criss-crossed the planet numerous times to preach the Gospel, taking into consideration the Beatitudes that he calls the “Christian identity card.” 

In 2019, Francis made his second trip to sub-Saharan Africa, visiting Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Radical Muslims groups have killed hundreds of Christians in Mozambique. However, the Pope made a strategic decision to visit , though only 33% of Mozambicans are Roman Catholics. 

The Pope’s visit came on the heels of a new peace agreement made between President Filipe Nyusi of the ruling party and the armed opposition led by Ossufo Momade. The Pope begged both parties to keep the peace deal they made. He reminded political leaders to act what is best for the people, as opposed to making decisions in their own best interests.

Today’s challenge is to emulate the legacy of Francis keeping in mind these words of this Pope: “Peace is not made with weapons,” rather “Peace is made with the outstretched hand.”

Richard Penaskovic is an Emeritus Professor at Auburn University. His writings have appeared in the Birmingham News, Columbus-Ledger Enquirer, Montgomery Advertiser and online by Informed Comment and Politurco.