Pope Francis – 11 Years Going, 11 Good

By Lavoisier Fernandes –

Apparently, the Italians have a proverb: “After a fat pope, a thin pope “, which essentially means that different men bring a different style, different personal qualities, and their sense of the issues they face and their understanding of the Petrine ministry itself will have been shaped by their own life experiences. The Pope, by God’s infinite imagination, is a man for his times. The Catholic Church throughout its history has had different popes, with different personalities, but always with an underlying continuity through the Magisterium (Ordinary, Conciliar and Pontifical Magisterium). We  believe that the Church is neither a political institution, nor an Amazon-like corporation headed by a white-robed CEO, but a divine body guided by the Holy Spirit speaking through the living Magisterium, albeit made up of men and women with human imperfections.

This 13^th of March, the Catholic Church celebrates 11 years of the pontificate of Pope Francis. While thanking God and reflecting on this Papacy, what comes to mind is the marvellous metaphor of Pope St. John XXIII, on opening the Second Vatican Council, where he said – “open the windows and let in the fresh air.” I would go a step further and add that Pope Francis in the last 11 years has not only built on the legacy of Vatican II and his predecessors but is also repositioning the Church by constantly challenging us to “think out-of-the box” but also simultaneously encouraging us to be rooted in the deposit of faith, continually guided by the Holy Spirit, so that the fresh air further circulates into all rooms, consequentially opening Church doors in an invitation to the heavenly wedding banquet (Mt 22:1–14), welcoming everyone (the Catholic Church is for “todos, todos, todos” — everyone, everyone, everyone). The invitation of Pope Francis’ pontificate is a mission, which implies a continuous outreach to all people, not only by going out, but also by inviting each one in a personal way to meet the Lord.

For anyone like me, who follows the Holy Father merely out of love for the Church and curiosity, there are for sure more than eleven accomplishments, but here are my eleven on Pope Francis’ 11 years in office and they are  in no particular order.

1. More Marian Feast days

Pope Francis, has a special devotion to Our Blessed Mother and this is well-known, especially one distinct feature before and after his return from each of his international trips is the veneration in the Basilica of St. Mary Major which holds the famous icon of Our Lady, known as Salus Populi Romani (protectress of the Roman people).

In 2018, Pope Francis established a new feast of Mary- Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church—in the Roman Calendar, which is celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost Sunday, taking it to 5 Solemnities and feasts and 8 Memorials.

2. More women working in the Vatican

There are currently 1,165 female employees working for the Pope, compared to only 846 in the year Pope Francis took office in 2013. The percentage of women in the total workforce at the Vatican rose in the current pontificate from just under 19.2 to 23.4 per cent today. This means that more than one in four employees at the Holy See is now a woman—in absolute figures, 812 out of 3,114 in the Roman Curia. Within the Curia, five women hold the rank of undersecretary, and one has the rank of secretary: Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, whom the pope appointed to the No. 2 position at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in 2021. It is the highest post ever held by a woman at the Holy See.

3. Engaging the peripheries beyond the traditional boundaries

The Holy Father is very much a Pope of gestures, especially his ecumenical and inter-religious outreach. Trips to Jerusalem, Turkey, Egypt, and Sri Lanka were an outreach seeking peace with other faith communities. The visits to Bangladesh and Myanmar highlighted the plight of the Rohingya community and Christian persecution. The trips to Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia focused on the on-going dialogue with other Protestants, whereas recently Pope Francis, as a good will gesture permitted the Archbishop of Canterbury to celebrate an Anglican Eucharist in the Catholic Church of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome.

Pope Francis said that the full restoration of communion among all the believers in Jesus Christ is an irrevocable commitment for every Christian, for the ‘unity of all’ and  “to achieve full communion that will enable us one day, in God’s time, to gather together at the same eucharistic table.”

4. Extraordinary Jubilee 2015 and the Jubilee 2025

For Pope Francis, the problem is not that of never making mistakes, but of knowing how to recognise one’s own error and recover from it. The Jubilee of 2025 will be the second with Pope Francis leading the Church. The extraordinary one of 2015 was called by Pope Francis himself, highlighting Jesus Christ’s message of Mercy.

In recent years, many have returned to Christianity and have again approached the sacrament of confession, thanks to what many have called the “Pope Francis effect“.

5. Promoting peace in a war-zone world and denouncing the weapons industry

Pope Francis has consistently denounced wars, conflicts, calling the weapons industry the “merchants of death.” The calls to stop the Israel-Hamas war have been consistent and ongoing. In a bid to stop the Ukraine war and departing from papal protocol, he visited the Russian embassy. So also, to promote peace in South Sudan – the Holy Father knelt to kiss  the feet of South Sudanese leaders, begging for peace. From his weekly audiences, tweets, and Sunday Angelus, to his historic visits of Iraq, Egypt, the UAE, and Sudan-they all have focused on the promotion of peace, coexistence, and the common good, always moving through dialogue and negotiation.

6. World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

The promotion of intergenerational communities, particularly with his attention to elderly populations, has been one of the flavours of his pontificate. In 2021 Pope Francis instituted a Church-wide celebration of a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which has been celebrated  on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The theme for the 4th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in 2024 is “Do Not Cast Me Off in My Old Age,” which comes from Psalm 71.

7. Christian morality is more than the ‘pelvic zone’ issues

The Holy Father is changing the status quo and recognising that Christian morality can’t be merely reduced to the obsession on the ‘pelvic zone’ issues and the old trinity of abortion, birth control, and homosexuality, while conveniently ignoring  other morally serious issues like the death penalty, the Catholic understanding of a ‘just-war’, euthanasia, immigration, corruption, environmental destruction, and social justice.

He said, “We are all sinners. Why then draw up a list of sinners who can enter the church and a list of sinners who cannot be in the church? This is not the Gospel.” To start with the Holy Father wants the Church of inclusion and welcoming.

8. Spoken out against the “throwaway culture” and highlights loneliness in the digital world

Pope Francis compared abortion to hiring a hitman and has called youth not to be slaves to mobile phones while being a vocal critic of throwaway culture, especially in the loneliness of the digital world. Pope Francis has been blunt on the migration situation in Europe, calling it a “fanaticism of indifference”. During a press conference aboard the papal plane from Marseille to Rome, he said “You don’t play with life, neither at the beginning nor at the end.”

9. Lay ministry Rite for Catechist

The Holy Father recognises that the laity play a pivotal role in the mission of evangelisation and formation. In 2022, the Holy Father introduced a special liturgical rite for the institution of catechists– “Receive this sign of our faith, cathedra of the truth and love of Christ, and proclaim it with your life, your conduct, and your word.”

10. Fight against Human trafficking

As the world grapples with wars and poverty, one consistent theme of the Holy Father has been the fight against human trafficking, which takes many forms in disguise, including organ trafficking ,surrogacy, sex trade, bonded cheap labour etc. In 2015, Pope Francis introduced the Catholic Church’s annual observance on the liturgical memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint for victims of human trafficking, while appealing to combat “the shameful scourge” of human trafficking, decrying that it “disfigures dignity.”

11. Call to continue our love for the Holy Eucharist

The one that never makes the rounds among all the dramatised headlines is Pope Francis’ continuous call for us Catholics to love the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Father has delivered a whole series of catechesis on the Eucharist, also called for a Eucharistic Revival in his apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi, dedicated to the liturgical formation of the people of God.

Pope Francis said, “The Eucharist is a bread for sinners and not a reward for saints, and it is meant to nourish those who are tired and hungry along the journey, let’s not forget this.”

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Lavoisier Fernandes, born and raised in Goa, is currently based in West London. His faith is “work in progress” — a lifelong journey. He has always been fascinated by the Catholic faith, thanks to his Salesian schooling. His passions are podcasting, theology, the papacy, and volunteering. He has hosted the ‘Talking Faith’ series for Heavens Road FM Catholic Radio, connecting with ordinary men and women within the Catholic faith and other faiths and examining issues affecting both the Church and society. He has also hosted the ‘Heart Talk’ series for Shalom World Catholic TV. He presently contributes for the Goa Diocesan magazine Renovação and the Faith Companion Magazine in England.