A Pope Against Pomp

Against rampant capitalism and luxury, for environmental protection and for dialogue between religions: on the occasion of the death of Pope Francis (1936-2025)

When he visited Albania in 2014, Pope Francis addressed the world with two messages. “To kill in the name of God is a great sacrilege,” he said. With these words, the head of the Catholic Church condemned the terrorism of Islamic fanatics, especially in Syria. 

The second message was this: Albania, according to the Pope, "can become an example for many countries" because of its model of coexistence between Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox. His visit was the first to a European country after being elected to the highest office of the Catholic Church.

Francis was an unusual Pope. “As for my death, I have a very pragmatic attitude. Everything is ready,” he had said. On Monday at 07:35 a.m. the Vatican released the news of his death: The Vicar of Christ “has returned to the house of God.” It was probably a confluence of divine and earthly laws: leaving this world on Easter Monday is not something every Pope can do. Nor is it every one of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Francis was unusual because he was not fond of luxury and pomp. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, was not only a photographer's eye-catcher with his red papal shoes. "The carnival is over," Francis is quoted as saying when Vatican officials tried to decorate him after his election. Francis tried to remain a man close to the people. After he was elected Pope, he called a newsagent in Buenos Aires to inform him that he could no longer deliver newspapers to his familiar address in the Argentine capital. "You know what happened." What had happened was somewhat revolutionary: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who grew up in Flores, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, was the first non-European pope. 

For a Pope, his biography was spectacular. He was a great football fan, a member of the Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro (Buenos Aires) football club. Before dedicating himself entirely to the service of God, he had worked as a cleaner in a sock factory and a security guard in a nightclub. “I had a girlfriend, a sweet girl,” he would later say from his role as Pope, while talking about the early years of his youth, when he had not yet decided on the ecclesiastical path. His mother wanted him to study medicine. “I didn’t lie to you. I am studying medicine. The medicine of souls,” he replied one day.

When he became Pope, he chose the name Francis as a sign of respect for Francis of Assisi, a mendicant monk who in 1206 heard the voice of Jesus: "Francis, go and rebuild my house, which, as you see, is completely ruined."

At the Vatican, the Argentine Pope refused to travel in an expensive car. He took a “Renault 4”, produced in the 1980s. Not every cardinal liked that the Pope gave up all the pomp that this position brings. Some even labeled him a communist or Marxist. He was a critic of unbridled capitalism. “This economy kills,” he wrote, speaking of the excesses in the world of finance - and thus became a hero to many critics of unregulated globalization. 

In Argentina, Bergoglio was a devotee and supporter of liberation theology. When he was elected pope, some accused him of failing to protect victims of the Argentine military dictatorship. Prominent theologian Leonardo Boff said: “He saved and hid many people who were persecuted by the military dictatorship.”

Slovenian Cardinal Franc Rode, one of the conservative wing of the Catholic Church, commented on Francis' election with these words: "It will be a catastrophe." He knew that Bergoglio had an aversion to the rigid structures of the Catholic Church, to corruption in its ranks, to numerous abuses. He accused the cardinals of suffering from mental Alzheimer's, of thinking that they are "immortal", "irreplaceable", of having "hearts of stone", of being isolated in "narcissism and pride".
This Pope did not spend all his time in paragraphs, theoretical nonsense and biblical interpretations. There are many of them in the Catholic Church. And such people belittled the Argentine by implying that he was not an intellectual. This was not true. He had studied philosophy and theology, he worshipped and knew classical music well, he read Russian and German classics. 

Like no other Pope, he appealed to people to protect the environment. “Who am I to judge,” he said spontaneously, speaking about homosexuals. But even in this matter, he defended the church’s opinion that “homosexuality is a sin.” He did not accept that women should exercise the function of priestesses, but during his pontificate he promoted many women to important positions in the Vatican, reformed (cleaned up) the Vatican bank, banned the church’s business with the mafia, and tightened the laws against serious sexual abuse by church dignitaries. These abuses have played a major role in the departure of many people from the Catholic Church. 

For Pope Francis, dialogue with leaders of other religions or confessions was important. In Abu Dhabi, he signed a declaration with Ahmad al-Tayeb, a leader of Sunni Muslims. He met in Cuba in 2016 with Kirill I of the Russian Church. Pope Francis tried to mediate in the war in Ukraine, but he did not always find the right tone. For this, he was criticized because, according to critics, he did not unequivocally support Ukraine. In the conflict in the Middle East, Pope Francis harshly criticized both the terrorist attacks of Hamas, but also Israel's war in Gaza. His message was: The Church is a "field hospital" to heal people's souls. 

An unwritten rule says that after a pope close to the people, the cardinals choose a conservative pope. Many names are already circulating in the Vatican. One of them will be chosen by the conclave in the coming weeks. 

For once, the Pope's funeral ceremonies will dominate the agenda. His wish was to be buried like any Christian, without excessive pomp and grandeur. 

In his homeland, Argentina, seven days of mourning have been declared. But his relationship with the populist president, Javier Millei, has been strained. During the 2023 election campaign, Millei insulted the Pope by calling him “the representative of evil on earth” and “an idiot who defends social justice.” The Pope forgave him for all of this when Millei visited the Vatican, now as the president of Argentina.  
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a generous man in a world increasingly dominated by cynics, populists, and misanthropes. He forgave and ignored them, while for young people he had this message: "Make a fuss."