Dear Friends,
This morning, the world awoke to the sad news of the death of Pope Francis. For me, and for many of us, memory goes back to the evening of 13 March 2013 when he stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time. He did not begin with fanfare nor with a flourish of titles. Instead, he simply looked out over the square and said, “Buona sera,” Good evening.
It was just two words, but in that moment, I knew this was going to be a different kind of pontificate.
Pope Francis has left us with a legacy that cannot be measured in exhortations, letters or decrees, but in his gestures of love, in his words of mercy, and in the quiet, steady insistence that the Church must go out—go out to the margins, out to those who are poor, out to those who feel forgotten. His papacy will be marked by the joy he had for the Gospel, by his radical openness to dialogue and care for our common home. He reminded us that those who suffer—refugees, the homeless, prisoners, the overlooked—are not on the periphery of God’s heart. They are at the very centre.
Where many feel unwelcome, Pope Francis opened doors. He embraced those who experienced exclusion with gestures of pastoral care, respect, and a call to see the human dignity in everyone: women, LGBTQ+ people, those who are divorced and remarried, and many more.
As he encouraged the Church to listen, to walk together, to become truly synodal, he never pretended that the conversations were going to be easy, but he insisted they were necessary. He invited us to imagine a Church that welcomes, heals, includes, and journeys with its people. He modelled servant leadership through the lowly washing of feet rather than the distance of an elevated office, and by being a humble follower of Jesus, firmly pointing the way.
“Buona sera,” he said, and it was indeed a good evening.
Now, we give thanks for the gift of his life, and as we mourn, may we carry his legacy forward, remembering the words he so often repeated: “Pray for me.”
May he rest in the deep peace of Jesus Christ whom he served so faithfully.
Julieann Moran
General Secretary of the Irish Synodal Pathway