On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis died. For me and for millions of others who admired him and were grateful to him, this was a difficult day. Even though I knew he was getting weaker, I was hopeful he had another year or two with us. I know that was selfish because he worked so hard for the twelve years he was pope, he deserved to reap his just reward.
A reflection by Mary Lou Edgar for May 4, 2025.
Pope Francis helped those of us who had felt literally trapped for so long in rules and regulations that it rendered us unable to make a spiritual choice of our own. Until Pope Francis, who led with humility and heart, I had become quite disenchanted with religion. Because of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church (where I belonged for many years), many people were disheartened with the religion they had known and practiced their entire life.
When Francis was elected pope, he asked for that name because he wanted to model himself after St. Francis of Assisi.
Those of us who are familiar with St. Francis of Assisi know that he was somewhat of a free spirit. Yet the good he did remains in the hearts of many and will never be forgotten.
Francis of Assisi did much more in his life than champion animals – which is how most people think of him. Pope Francis was a similar man. He was far from perfect and had no difficulty speaking about those things where he had strong feelings. He maintained a quiet demeanor and always did what he believed was God’s plan. He grappled with the sexual abuse scandal that had infiltrated Catholic churches not only in the United States but throughout the world. He was much more protective of his priests when the information about the scandal first emerged; later he lost patience with it and preached that these were evil acts. It really impacted him that they were primarily against children. Children were very special to him, especially poor children.
He opened more church roles to women and authorized priests to perform blessings for gay couples. When he had been pope for a very short time, a reporter asked him about gay priests. His response was “if someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Even as pope, Pope Francis lived a modest life. He did not live in the apartment in the Vatican that was set aside for him. He did not believe in all the pomp that the church thought was necessary. He was more interested in the people. He traveled more than any other pope and he always relished being among the people who came to see him. He was friendly and greeted people with a smile.
I could go on and on about him, but I would really like to share some personal thoughts and feelings. When Francis became pope, I can remember being in disbelief.
I had known of many popes and seen many changes but most of the changes had to do with liturgical issues. None of them were heart issues. No one seemed to care about women who died from abortions, they were sinners. No one seemed to think about birth control. That was about women, and it needed to be a sin. No one seemed to care about the number of people dying from starvation in the world. No one seemed to care deeply about the relationship between peace and justice.
When I looked at the College of Cardinals, I often wondered if any of them even recognized how much poverty there is in our world. But Pope Francis did. I’m sure the twelve years he served as pontiff were full of struggles. However, he remained an honest man of faith, who loved God and all people.
The day before he died, he was out riding in his Popemobile, waving to the people and blessing them. He had already said that, when he was laid to rest, he wanted it to be “with dignity, but like any Christian, because the bishop of Rome is a pastor and a disciple, not a powerful man of this world.”
He was never afraid to be himself and he modeled that for us. I am grateful for his life and what he shared with us all. I feel sure God welcomed him home and I know he will rest in peace when he is not too busy watching out for all of us!
Blessings to all!
_____________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Lou Edgar, MSS, is a clinical social worker who founded A Better Chance for Our Children, an adoption and foster care agency that works to find permanent homes for children in the foster care system. Mary Lou was the Executive Director of ABCFOC, but she is now retired. She graduated from Neumann University and Bryn Mawr School of Social Work and Social Research. She and her husband joined SsAM in 2021.
Click here to see all the reflections by Mary Lou Edgar.
