Editor’s note: Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, the editors of Where Peter Is received many tributes to his life and reflections on his influence from past and current contributors, as well as podcast guests and friends of the site from all over the world. Following the Election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8, we still have many submissions that have not yet been posted, so we will continue to publish these reflections intermittently as time permits. —ML
Pope Francis: The Conscience of the World!
By Tony Magliano
In a world that so often turns its back on those most in need, Pope Francis instead consistently exemplified Jesus’ call to us to be his light in the darkness: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden … Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” That is exactly how Pope Francis lived!
He often made efforts to prick, and ever rattle our consciences to pay serious attention to our suffering brothers and sisters, and to our battered earth-home; focusing beams of Christ’s light on those who are on the periphery – like so many vulnerable children, migrants, the homeless, the war-torn, the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly, and the unborn.
Pope Francis was consistent in his prophetic teaching on the protection of all life from conception to natural death. Starting with the earliest stages of life, Pope Francis firmly declared, “Abortion is more than an issue. Abortion is murder.” Each unborn baby is “a human life, period. … Is it right, is it fair, to kill a human life to solve a problem?”
Always proclaiming peace and condemning war, he challenged each of us to realize that “War is the suicide of humanity because it kills the heart and kills love.” That “Wars are always madness: all is lost in war, all is gained in peace.”
In his historic address to the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis boldly said, “Why would anyone give weapons to people who use them for war? . . . The answer is money, and the money is drenched in blood.”
Regarding his teaching on migrants, Pope Francis said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
And on the environment, Pope Francis’ famous encyclical letter “Laudato Si’ on Care for Our Common Home” speaks volumes.
Pope Francis once poignantly asked, “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”
When it became clear during the papal conclave that he would be the next pope, the archbishop from Argentina thought, “the poor, the poor.” Then he said, “Thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were being counted.” And he thought that “St. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart.”
And our dear Holy Father added, “For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” and added that St. Francis was “the poor man who wanted a poor church.” Within that same spirit, Pope Francis beautifully said, “How I would love a church that is poor and for the poor.”
The guiding light of the Risen Christ continues to shine brightly through Pope Francis, even now after his passing. His tireless teachings and examples of selfless loving service toward all, especially for the poor, vulnerable and our earth-home, will live on, continuing to do much good if we allow ourselves to actively live the Gospel he embodied.
During St Pope John Paul II’s funeral Mass, you may remember banners proclaiming in Italian “Santo Subito!”– meaning “Make him a saint now!”
Similarly, how can we not be confident that Pope Francis is with God? So, let’s once again proclaim what the Holy Spirit is inspiring us to know: “Santo Subito!” Indeed, let’s acknowledge him as a saint now. Let’s pray for his intercession and follow his saintly example as tireless missionary disciples of the Risen Lord Jesus!
This column was originally published on the Southern Cross website, www.scross.co.za/.
A Pope Who Paid His Own Bills
By Father Tim Kelly
Pope Francis was known for putting people’s nose out of joint. He seemed to take pleasure in getting people “ornery”, as we would say down here in the heart of Texas. But, sorry Your Holiness, I must claim first dibs in the “nose out of joint“ department.
On Wednesday March 13, 2013, I was studying at the Maryville Institute in Birmingham, England. Pope Benedict had resigned a month earlier, and the Cardinals were confined in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new successor to Saint Peter.
When it became known that the conclave had elected a new pope, everybody was very excited, and students and faculty gathered in the auditorium to watch the “Annuncio Vobis Gaudium Magnum” the Loggia of Saint Peter’s.
When the Cardinal Dean announced the name. “Georgium Marium…Bergoglio” there was confusion at first, followed by consternation when I informed them that he was a Jesuit. I can recall that one of the priests on the faculty began to lament that all the good work done by Pope Benedict would now be overturned. Even though we all piled into the little chapel and sang a Te Deum, the air was filled with apprehension of what a Jesuit might do to undermine their view of Catholicism.
The following morning, we saw images of the new pope using his personal credit card to pay his bill at the hostel where he had stayed before the conclave. The pope insisted on carrying his own luggage to the car.
A pretentious young priest who was pretending to be an Englishman (what voluntary debasement) expressed his horror at such a proletarian indignity.
“You would never see Her Majesty the Queen carrying her own luggage.”
At which point, my inner Irishman broke through my clerical veneer: “True, Father. But you would never see Her Majesty the Queen paying her own bills either.”
I disjointed a few English noses that breakfast in Birmingham.
“Pope Francis lived the Joy of the Gospel and wanted us to do the same”
By Dr. Mary Kay Bungert, Ed. D
My husband and I traveled to Rome in 2015 with a small group of travelers. Our guide is well known for getting prime locations during the Wednesday audience. We were located where the Pope would drive by twice with no one between us and the Holy Father.
Next to us was a family from South America – Mom, Dad and little girl about two years old asleep on Dad’s shoulder. As Pope Francis traveled the route, he stopped often to bless people. As he approached us, he saw the little girl. In an instant the pope’s car was right in front of us and one of his gentlemen spoke briefly to dad. Before we could blink the child was on the Holy Father’s lap. She awoke and exclaimed “Papa” with a big smile. Pope Francis laughed – not a chuckle- a full laugh. In an instant the child was back with Mom and Dad. Everything happened so fast they didn’t take any photos. Fortunately, a few people in our group took pictures. A joyful exchange of e-mails took place and soon they possessed many precious photos.
That day I understood that Pope Francis lived the Joy of the Gospel and wanted us to do the same. He exemplified the joy that can be found when we make room for the stranger and protect the vulnerable. He bore witness to the kind of joy that gave witness to truth even when not popular (with the right or left) and extended mercy to all- including those who maligned him. I pray daily for courage and strength to live my faith with this kind of joy.
Image: “Despedida Papa Francisco” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Cancillería Ecuador
Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net
Father Tim Kelly is a priest of the Diocese of Tyler in Texas. Ordained in 1999, he has spent most of his ministry in parishes in "Deep East Texas." He spent three years studying Patristics in Rome and two years teaching at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. Fr. Kelly’s interest is in the history of theology -- the forces which shape how the Catholic Church expresses herself in any particular moment of history.
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