In his ordinal individuality, Pope Francis mirrored the Catholic church’s cardinal directions over a millennium. When he became the first pontiff to choose the name Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio indicated his adoration for the 12th century friar from Assisi whose embrace of poverty and humility helped the church shed the image of decadence and corruption it had acquired over the previous two centuries. As pope, he shunned some of the opulent vestments used for ceremonies and preferred the modest Saint Martha’s House over the lavish papal quarters in the Apostolic Palace. His constant advocacy for the displaced—including admonishing Europe and America’s immigration policies—flowed from the same font. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of the environment, a cause Francis of Buenos Aires championed while warning against climate change.
As the first pope from the western hemisphere, his anointment reflected the growing importance of the continent, especially Latin America, as an evangelical frontier. Significantly, the rise of the first Jesuit to the chair of St Peter marked a full circle in church politics. It showed the persistence of an order that had been officially abolished during 1773-1814 after complaints of meddling in worldly affairs in several countries.
Above all, Pope Francis became a lightning rod for moral clarity in a world confused by populism and devastated by war. He reformed the Catholic church’s teaching on the death penalty and nuclear weapons, but upheld it on abortion and euthanasia. He kept the door open for future reforms on inducting women priests and instructed the church to bless everyone, irrespective of their gender orientation. Even near his end, Pope Francis kept calling the Palestinians huddled in Gaza’s only Catholic church almost every night.
Despite the casteism that the Indian church suffers from, when a janitor who became pope appointed Anthony Poola as the first Dalit cardinal, it signalled a rare social mobility. Poola is one of the four Indians among about 135 cardinals under the age of 80 who are expected to choose the next pope by May. Pope Francis tried his best to increase representation from Asia, Africa and Latin America in the church. So when the world sees white smoke billowing from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel again, it will hope for someone who can represent the transformed Vatican he left in his wake.