What we can learn from Pope Francis’s life and legacy, regardless of religious beliefs

Pope Francis’s passing is a solemn global event that is especially felt on a campus like CSB+SJU.

47% of current students on campus are Catholic, and Francis’s impact on his church’s community is undeniable. But no matter your religion, we all have things to learn from Francis’s life and work.

Francis was in many ways a trailblazer toward a contemporary church. In his first apostolic exhortation in 2013 (a papal document intended to guide the church towards certain values), he wrote that he wanted a Catholic Church “with doors always wide open,” that welcomed Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He practiced what he preached — he demonstrated a desire for interfaith dialogue by meeting with Jewish, Muslim and other Christian faith leaders and frequently commented on inclusion for agnostics and atheists. Francis’s conciliatory and open nature toward other faiths mirrored a modern world full of many beliefs.

Francis was also a frequent commentator on issues that directly impacted the United States. On February 10, in a letter from the Vatican titled “Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America,” Francis wrote to American clergy and laymen, addressing his concerns for the state of the nation.

“I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations… one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival,” Francis said. “That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”

Francis was a constant advocate for immigrants, the poor and those in war-torn countries. Over the course of this papacy, he insisted climate change was an ethical issue that could not be ignored or denied — fitting for a man who chose his papal name to honor St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology. While he was not the first pope to champion environmental issues, he was one of the most outspoken — frequently calling out world leaders (including the United States) for not doing more to combat detrimental human impacts on the planet.

However, like all people, Francis was not perfect. You’ll hear arguments on both sides of the aisle that say missteps were made throughout his 12 years as pope. Many complaints are directed at his handling of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, where he first seemed to support the accused bishops before strongly pivoting to consult with victims and introduce clergy reforms and investigations into the crimes.

Francis also had an often ambiguous stance on same-sex couples and the LGBTQ+ community, saying that they had a right to be protected by civil unions but not marriages within the church. He allowed priests to bless same-sex couples in 2023 and condemned laws that criminalized homosexuality but upheld that it was a sin within the Catholic faith.

Calls for expanded roles for women within the church echoed throughout Francis’s papacy. According to CNN, by the time Francis was pope for 10 years, “the percentage of women in the Vatican workforce had risen from 19.2% to 23.4%.” He appointed women to many senior positions within the Vatican and allowed them to vote for the first time ever at a 2024 synod (a council meeting between bishops and lay people).

However, despite organizing commissions to study female deacons in 2016 and 2020, Francis maintained that women could not be ordained, keeping with tradition. A Pew Research Center study conducted in February said that 54% of American Catholics who attend mass weekly believe women should be allowed to become deacons. The support for this highly debated reform tends to drop off when it comes to higher ordinations, with 41% believing women should be allowed to become priests.

What these points of contention can tell us is, as with all things, reflecting on Francis’s life requires nuance. There will be countless discussions of his acts as pope and legacy around the world in the years to come. But no matter where you stand or your religious belief system (or lack thereof), you should look for the lessons to be learned through his example. Francis lived and led with humility, pushing the church toward accessibility and emphasizing empathy and peace.

He challenged both political parties in the United States with opportunities for growth as the only pope to address Congress and did not allow his growing health issues to bar him from continuing to serve people right up until his death.

Here at CSB+SJU, we study the Benedictine Values that our schools are grounded in, regardless of if we are Catholic or not, because there is something to be gained from them for everyone. Differing religious beliefs do not prevent us from learning and growing with each other; rather, they enhance this opportunity. Francis said himself that he was imperfect, but he spent his days working to build bridges and emphasized hope as he tackled modern life and all the struggles that come with it. This legacy holds valuable messages for all of us.