Requiescat in Pace

~ rdicarne

Just over a week ago, I awoke to learn that Pope Francis had died. Since then, I have been in mourning, feeling like I lost a grandparent whom I looked up to. There have been six popes in my lifetime, but Pope Francis has made the most significant impact on me. Why? Because he walked the talk.

As a cradle Catholic, I love the universality of the Church’s rites and rituals. As a 39-year Catholic school teacher, I am also keenly aware of the opinions and criticisms of the Catholic Church. Some are valid; some are not.

Like most people, my religious life has had ebbs and flows – never my faith life, though, that remained unwavering. In the past 12 years, under the guidance of Pope Francis, I found a renewed sense of hope. How he interacted with children, people experiencing poverty, and those on the fringes of society made this empath’s heart so full and happy.

There are many Catholics who believe Francis was too liberal, much the same way many thought his predecessor, Benedict, was too conservative. My feelings toward Pope Francis stem not from his policies for the Catholic Church but from the example he set through his actions. Pope Francis was the people’s pope who preferred a simple room in a Vatican guesthouse over a luxurious papal apartment. He was a model of simplicity and humility.

While Pope Francis did not rewrite the laws of the Catholic Church, he tended to follow the spirit rather than the letter of the law. That is what I loved most about him.

Over the past week, I was amazed to see all of the lives Pope Francis touched, especially those of other faiths. The outpouring in the news and on social media was astounding. What a legacy and example he is leaving for the world. If we could all be as inclusive and caring as Pope Francis, what a world this could be.

13 thoughts on “Requiescat in Pace”

  1. I enjoyed this reflection.

    I was born into the Church to an observant Catholic father and a disaffected Catholic mother. I had, throughout my childhood, a fortunate mix of faith and skepticism. Ironically, my mother’s cynicism drove her to sit me down when I was 8 to discuss the Sermon on the Mount, which keenly informed my spiritual life and my humanity from that point forward.

    By middle age (and after years of Catholic education and teaching in a wonderful parochial school) I could not abide the patriarchy, hypocrisy, and corruption of the Church as an institution, though I always cherished the core truth that Christianity shares with all religions.

    Though a lapsed Catholic, I admired Pope Francis for the very things you explain in your post. I viewed footage of a young nonbinary person asking during an audience with Francis whether there is a place for LGBTQ people in the Church when so many clergy condemn them. In a hauntingly powerful response, he labeled the denouncers as “infiltrators” and affirmed that we are all children of God.

    But even the infallible Pontiff understood that his institution would never sustain the ordination of anyone but men and that its own framework of power and authority would always groan under its own weight rather than soar with true divinity. At the very least, he was the first Pope of my lifetime truly to draw in those who felt pushed away.

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  7. What a world this could be! If more of us could be more like him and Him. Showing love and mercy could change our world. Thanks for sharing your story and your faith life. Maybe you should join us at Spiritual Journey Thursday. I taught at a Catholic girls’ school for two years, 1982 -84. That was awhile ago!

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      1. We write monthly on the first Thursday of the month. The host selects a theme. We’re always open to new members.

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