Even as a Pope, Francis remained a man of the people. He did many things differently than its predecessors. But there were no big reforms with him. Now he died at the age of 88.
The day, which changed everything in Jorge Mario Bergoglio and in the Roman Catholic Church, was March 13, 2013. In the morning he was still an archbishop of Buenos Aires. In the evening he was a pope.
On that rainy Wednesday at 8:22 p.m., the native Argentinian, who could have retired at the age of 76, stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. The new Pontifex named Francis was wearing a simple white robe, not even a stole, and greeted the world with a friendly “Fratelli e Sorelle, Buonasera” (“Brothers and sisters, good evening”). Then he took the bus back to the Vatican’s guest house.
Big differences to the German predecessor
In the first few minutes of his pontificate, Francis made a lot differently than a lot of his predecessors. The differences to the resigned Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, were obvious to everyone.
The new head of more than 1.4 billion Catholics wanted to be close to humans, spoke simple sentences and did not value external figures – all characteristics that nobody connected to his German predecessor. In other things, the heart-jesu socialist from Argentina and the theology professor from Bavaria were also far apart.
On the other hand, Francis would never have become a Pope if Benedikt had not surprisingly waived his office at the time. When Bavaria’s life came to an end almost a decade later, on New Year’s Eve 2022, at the age of 95, his successor was already well above the age limit of 80 to which you can become a Pope.
Now Francis died at the age of 88 – in office, although he very often speculated about resignation. In spring he was in the hospital for 38 days with a life -threatening pneumonia. The doctors had almost given him up. But then he returned to the Vatican.
On Easter Monday, he already donated the blessing Urbi et Orbi to tens of thousands of believers. That was the last time you could see him. He was not as old as Benedict, but as old as no other acting Pope for more than a century.
The Pontifex, which was born into an Italian immigrant family in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, also had a number of unique selling points. He was the very first Pope from Latin America and after more than a millennium the first to come from Europe. The first Jesuit in this office. And the first one to name the name Francis – as a reminiscence to Franz von Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan begging order. That was also the program: Francis wanted to be a Pope of the poor, the weak, the forgotten, the displaced.
That suited his origin. Bergoglio grew up in very modest and very Catholic conditions. He was what was called a “late -profession” in the church. At first he learned cheman technicians, only then did he go to the seminar, studied philosophy and theology. He was consecrated to the priest shortly before his 33rd birthday. His first time in the church service was the worst years of the Argentine military dictatorship. At that time, accusations come that he had got involved with the regime too much. Francis always rejected this.
A difficult time in Germany
In the mid -1980s, he lived in Boppard on the Rhine for a few months, with a Schmidt family. He learned German at the Goethe Institute. He also wrote about a doctoral thesis on the theologian Romano Guardini, which he never finished. Otherwise, German time was not a good thing for him.
Later he said that he felt “completely out of place” and had walked a lot in cemeteries. When Argentina became a soccer world champion against Germany in 1986, he refrained from watching the final on TV. He preferred to go to the Rhine. “It was more important to me to enjoy a moment of calm, think about my life and pray the rosary.”
Back home he was consecrated to Bishop in 1992, in 1998 to the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2001, Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal. He was soon considered a “papabile”, as a candidate for the highest office. In 2005 he was clearly defeated against Ratzinger in the conclave. When he was elected eight years later, he joked his origin from the other “end of the world”. But there was also a program.
A Pope as a cross -border commuter
This Pope pulled the limits, geographically and socially. The very first trip took him to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, fateful place of tens of thousands of refugees from Africa. From his own family history, he was aware of how difficult it is to leave home. The Mediterranean, where so many people drown on the way into a supposedly better future, he called the “largest cemetery in Europe”.
On more than 40 trips abroad, he kept going to those who live on the side. From the Greek island of Lesbos, he took twelve refugees from Syria to Rome. In Mozambique, he donated a consolation. He flew to Myanmar, where hundreds of thousands of members of the Muslim minority of Rohingya were driven out of the country.
In Abu Dhabi, he signed an explanation of the “fraternity of all people” across all religions. The core sentence: “Pluralism and the diversity in relation to religion, skin color, gender, ethnicity and language correspond to a wise sake with which God has created people.” His last big journey, the longest too, led him to Papua New Guinea in autumn 2024, one of the poorest countries in the world.
The fact that Francis never came to Germany in his time as a Pope can be explained with his failure in the 1980s. However, for many he never went to his homeland in more than ten years. Especially in the past few months, when he was getting worse, speculation was speculated over an early trip to Argentina. The current President Javier Milei expressed an invitation, although he used to insult him as a bad communist. But nothing came of it.
Politician on the Petri chair
Francis was a very political Pope, far beyond the customary reminders to peace. Another of his guiding principles: “There will never be a real peace if we are unable to build a fairer economic system.” He denounced the exploitation of the planet with the first environmental encyclical in church history, “Laudato si”. This said in 2015: “The rhythm of consumption, waste and change in the environment has exceeded the capacity of the planet in such a way that the current lifestyle can only end in disasters.”
He called the murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which brought him trouble with Turkey. He also talked to the United Nations in conscience. Again and again Francis tried to convey in wars and civil wars: sometimes with success like in Colombia, but mostly he was shown the limits of Vatican diplomacy. When he suggested to the Ukrainians in spring 2024 to whiten the white flag in front of Russia’s troops, many shook their heads.
Crises and conflicts also in the church
Francis also had enough to do with crises and conflicts in the church. In his choice, the abuse scandals in many dioceses, covered up for decades, were already a big issue. From the speech in front of the conclave that made him a Pope, the sentence has been handed down: “If the church does not go out to announce the gospel, it revolves around itself. Then it becomes sick.” Later he even complained in public in a Christmas speech: “Like the Egyptian Sphinx, making reform in Rome is to clean with a toothbrush.”
In the curia, the Roman power apparatus, he did not make it popular. No matter: he converted the structures, brought women to the management level and prescribed more transparency in financial transactions to the Vatican. He was reluctant to talk to the shops in intra -church affairs – in the style of an absolutist monarch, as Popes are. Many lost in the curia. This creates opponents.
The now died Australian spa cardinal George Pell even called Francis’ pontificate a “catastrophe”. The criticism ranged to the accusation that the viewing point of modesty was a particularly pronounced form of vanity. Conservative cardinals from Germany like Gerhard Ludwig Müller also made no secret of their displeasure.
Hopes of reformers disappointed
Francis also acted criticism from the other side. Many who had given great hopes in him did not go far enough. In fact, he said sentences that a Pope would never have been believed (“If someone is gay, the Lord is looking for and good will: Who am I to condemn it?”).
In practice, however, little changed. He cleared the way to bless homosexual couples, but relaxation of celibacy or ordination for women – not to make it with him. The disappointment was particularly great in Germany, also with some bishops, especially since he also cut the reform process synodal path.
With topics such as abortion and contraception, Francis even proved to be an extremely conservative representative of the Catholic sexual morality: “Abortion is more than a problem. It is murder.” At most, he called contraception in exceptional cases. When it comes to sexual abuse by dignitaries, he tightened the rules. However, it still hooks on the implementation.
Many lead to the fact that there was no major upheaval, to the fact that Francis had an emeritus Pope at the side most of his pontificate. Two men in white – there has never been in the Vatican. And certainly Benedikt broke him out. Others see his reform balance more positively. They argue that the Pope number 266 had initiated changes that only gradually develop their full effect.
In fact, Francis postponed the coordinates by giving the church a synodal constitution. As a result, he shifted power away from Rome to a certain extent, towards the churches on site. After three years of consultations, he also finished the world synod he brought on, albeit without fundamental reforms.
What is certain in all debates about his balance sheet: With his personnel decisions, Francis had a great influence on the body of cardinals over the years, which will now vote for the next Pope. In newcomers, he often ignored bishops from the previous church centers of the church in Europe. He prefers to call the clergymen from distant regions. Some say: from the other end of the world.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
