In life, Pope Francis caught the world’s attention with his humility and his holiness. So it’s no surprise that in death, the tributes are raining down like manna from heaven.
Francis was the beloved Holy Father to more than a billion Catholics he led for the past 12 years. But the pope who died on Monday also gained the respect of many others, including political and religious leaders around the globe, even those who were his critics.
Relentless in his quest for social justice, Francis demanded that we look into the face of suffering, especially the poor and marginalized. And that’s not always an easy ask for those of us who live a life of excess.
One of the most humbling assignments of my career, in fact, was sitting with a group of residents at Hesed House in Aurora in 2015 as we watched Pope Francis’ televised address to a joint session of Congress. In that memorable speech, he beseeched this powerful nation to not let money drive decisions at the expense of humanity; to use this nation’s influence to heal the “open wounds of a world suffering from violence, hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.”
Pope Francis became “the face of love and compassion.”
Those were the words that ran through the Rev. Godwin Asuquo’s mind when he got the news Monday morning of the pope’s death. But the pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Aurora also recalled the first words Jorge Mario Bergoglio spoke after being introduced as Pope Francis on the world stage in 2013.
“Pray for me,” the new pontiff told the faithful, a simple request that spoke volumes about the humbleness of this down-to-earth global leader.
“Every time I remember it,” Asuquo said, “it brings me to tears.”
Likewise, it was the humbleness of Francis that struck St. Joe parishioner Lynn Monaco, particularly when the new pope chose to forgo the Apostolic Palace to live in the Vatican guest house; when he bypassed limos for public transportation; when he chose simple attire over gilded garments.
“He was a different kind of pope,” said the 69-year-old North Aurora woman, who converted to Catholicism in her 20s and is active in her parish’s Discipleship Program.
“He made us think a little more about loving people,” said Monaco. “All people.”
It was a message of inclusiveness, however, that at times turned Francis into a controversial figure. While he earned high marks for his servant’s heart and the aggressive way he tackled the church’s clerical sexual abuse crisis, he drew criticism from traditionalists for reaching out to the gay and lesbian faithful. He leaned toward leniency in offering Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. And he pushed back against tough migration policies, while also expressing deep concern about another political hot button: climate change.
At the same time, progressive Catholics did not think the pope, who remained traditional to church doctrines, including those opposing abortion, gay marriage and women priests, went far enough in his mission to be more inclusive.
Trying to politicize Francis “always bothered” Asuquo, who insisted the pope could not be categorized as liberal or conservative, but instead was “interested in teaching the truth about how we can love.”
Whether talking about continents, countries or villages, “boundaries are not drawn by God,” noted Asuquo, who founded ImaBridge Africa in 2008, a global nonprofit that is building wells, businesses, medical and educational facilities in his native Nigeria.
No one, however, could deny that Pope Francis spoke from the heart. And perhaps just as noteworthy, he valued what others had to say.
“Synodality” is one word that comes to mind for the Rev. Michael Miller, who lived in Rome from 2018-2024 as the secretary general of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, when listing the Holy Father’s remarkable gifts.
“It means listening … listening (to the Holy Spirit) before you respond,” said Miller, who was pastor of St. Therese Catholic Church in Aurora for 13 years and is now provincial superior of the USA Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, which was based in Aurora until a couple years ago and is now headquartered in Pennsylvania.
Pope Francis “saw Jesus in everybody,” Miller added, which is why, rather than judge or condemn those he did not agree with, “he wanted to hear what they had to say.”
In doing so, “the hearts of bishops and priests have been changed … those who are more rigid have started to soften,” insisted Asuquo, who sees a “stronger church” because of Francis.
The Aurora priest also sees more young people filling the pews, noting that not only has this year’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults class had a record number of participants in his parish, Bishop David Malloy indicated to him that RCIA numbers are up across the Rockford Diocese.
Nolan Hosking, 20, who was one of a dozen new converts at St. Gall Church in Elburn a year ago, turned to the New Testament at age 17 – and eventually to Catholicism – to “help fulfill an emptiness” he felt throughout his teen years as he struggled with anxiety and depression.
“It was like I was dead inside … until I felt the Holy Spirit guiding me,” Hosking told me.
While the Waubonsee Community College sophomore considers himself more of a traditionalist – he’d like to see a return to the Latin Mass – he’s grateful for the message the late pope sent to the world: that administering to the poor, the struggling, the oppressed is truly “a beautiful representation of Christ who, like Pope Francis, came to serve, not to be served.”
Miller, who was privileged to have been in two private meetings with Pope Francis, including an opportunity in 2017 to present Francis with a copy of Aurora matriarch Marie Wilkinson’s memoirs, remembered the pontiff for his smile, his openness. Still, he admitted, even though “I had something prepared to say in Spanish to the pope, I lost my speech” as the two stood face to face.
“We shook hands, we smiled at each other. It was a good encounter,” Miller recalled, adding that there was no doubt “he was energized by people.”
Which could help explain why, even as Pope Francis likely was struggling for breath in his final hours on Earth, the Holy Father was determined to walk among the faithful on Easter Sunday.
“Like Christ on the cross,” said Miller, “he gave everything.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
