As the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis, Dr Taras Khomych, senior lecturer in Theology reflects on some of the lesser publicised aspects of his time as leader.
Pope Francis (né Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was born on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit to ascend to the papacy. His pontificate began on 13 March 2013 and has been characterised by a strong commitment to reform, social justice, environmental concerns as well as ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. In what follows, I would like to highlight two aspects of his ministry that have received less attention since his passing yet remain of crucial importance.
The first is the path of synodality. Pope Francis championed the vision of a synodal Church, one that listens, discerns, and walks together, emphasising inclusivity and shared responsibility among all members of the Church, the People of God. This vision, taking up the ecclesiological perspective of the Second Vatican Council, has been actively embraced by the Archdiocese of Liverpool, particularly through its Synod 2020 initiative, launched in 2018 under the leadership of Archbishop Malcolm McMahon. It is worth noting that theologians from Liverpool Hope University have played a significant role in this synodal journey by preparing the theological framework, analysing the extensive data collected during the synod's listening phase and continuing its commitment to synodality through teaching programmes in partnership with the Archdiocese and other Catholic dioceses.
A significant step in this synodal process was the dedicated meeting of parish priests from around the world, who gathered in Sacrofano (near Rome) to reflect on the themes that emerged from the broader consultation and to discern their pastoral implications. This gathering underscored the crucial role of parish priests in fostering synodality at the grassroots level. Pope Francis personally met with the participants, offering them his blessing and commissioning them to carry forward the synodal process in their own communities. I have a personal memory of this meeting, which I attended as a representative of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of London. When I introduced myself as a Ukrainian priest, the Pope immediately greeted me in Ukrainian, saying ‘Khrystos Voskres (Christ is Risen)!’ – a traditional Easter greeting in Ukraine (as it was the Easter season of 2024). This personal touch made the encounter especially warm and meaningful. Pope Francis had a special connection to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; as a boy, he served regularly at Divine Liturgy (Eastern Christian Mass) celebrated by a local Ukrainian priest, Salesian Father Stepan Chmil, whom he also considered his mentor.
This brings me to the second point, namely the Pope’s stance on Ukraine, especially in relation to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Pope Francis consistently expressed deep empathy for ‘martoriata Ucraina (martyred Ukraine)’ as he used to say. He repeatedly condemned the war and called on the international community to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. His support went beyond words and included concrete actions, such as weekly appeals for peace during his general audiences and Angelus prayers, personal meetings with Ukrainians (including relatives of prisoners of war and war victims), humanitarian assistance, the Vatican’s involvement in negotiations for the exchange of prisoners, the return of abducted Ukrainian children, the treatment of injured Ukrainian children in the Vatican’s hospital, etc.
While many Ukrainians have expressed concerns over certain papal initiatives, such as the meeting with Patriarch Kiril in Havana in February 2016, the inclusion of both Ukrainian and Russian women in the Way of the Cross in Rome in April 2022, or his reluctance to explicitly name Russia as the aggressor, the full context and motivations behind these decisions may only become clearer with time.
These two aspects mentioned above, Pope Francis’ promotion of synodality and his solidarity with Ukraine, reflect the heart of his papacy: a Church that listens, walks with the suffering and actively seeks peace and justice. It is especially meaningful that Pope Francis’s funeral falls on the eve of the Divine Mercy Sunday. At the beginning of his papacy, he proclaimed an extraordinary Year of Mercy in 2015 and he passed away during the Jubilee Year of Hope which he himself inaugurated. This convergence of mercy and hope summarises the legacy he leaves behind: a call for a Church that journeys together, attentive to the cries of the world and, as a ‘field hospital’, committed to healing its deepest pains. As we pray for God's mercy upon Pope Francis, we also renew our hope in the vision he entrusted to us, a vision that continues to inspire and challenge the Church today.