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Pope Francis, a trailblazer and advocate for the downtrodden, dead at 88

Published: 21 Apr. 2025, 18:03

Pope Francis appears for the first time since his return to the Vatican, on the day of a Mass for Jubilee of Sick and Health Care Workers in Saint Peter's square, at the Vatican on April 6,. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Pope Francis died on Monday. He was 88.

Pope Francis holds special significance in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. He was not from Europe, but from South America — a departure in papal tradition. He was a Jesuit. He was a passionate advocate for the poor and downtrodden. He even took on controversial issues that previous popes refused to touch, such as same-sex marriage.

Historically, the papacy had been the domain of Italians. There was a reason for this: the pope was originally the bishop of Rome, capital of an empire, and the College of Cardinals — which elects the pope — remains heavily dominated by Italians.

The first to break the Italian monopoly was Pope John Paul II of Poland. He was followed by Pope Benedict XVI of Germany. Still, the papacy remained within Europe.

It was not until the election of Pope Francis — born in Argentina — that the Church fully stepped beyond the European sphere. His election in March 2013 was a momentous shift. The growth of Catholicism in South America and the fact that he came from a family of Italian immigrants served as stepping stones that made a pope from the region possible.

Pope Francis valued substance over formality, largely because he came not from the diocesan clergy, but from the Jesuit order. Through long years of prayer and contemplation, he developed the spiritual insight of a monastic leader. He boldly addressed issues that previous popes had avoided out of deference to doctrine and institutional inertia.

Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 20. [AP/YONHAP]

“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” the pope said during one interview.

While he opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage, he refused to pass judgment on individuals. That, he believed, belonged to God and God alone.

Even before becoming a priest, Pope Francis worked in the slums of Argentina, places plagued by drug trafficking and lawlessness. He risked his life to serve there, where the law enforcement had no practical power. Even after being made cardinal, he continued his work in the slums, without publicity. When he was elected pope, people in the Argentine slums rejoiced, saying the “pope of the poor” had finally emerged.

His humility touched many. As a cardinal in Buenos Aires, he refused the car and driver provided by the archdiocese. He rode buses and subways instead, sending a message that he was no different from his fellow believers.

Pope Francis tours St. Peter's Square in his popemobile after bestowing the Urbi et Orbi blessing at the end of the Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 20. [UPI/YONHAP]

“To know how people live,” he once said, “you have to be jostled in a crowded subway. You have to be pushed around like everyone else. Only then can you understand what they feel and what they want.”

During Argentina’s military dictatorship, he publicly distanced himself from liberation theology, which was sweeping across Latin America. This led to accusations that he had cooperated with the regime. But years later, a story came to light that dispelled these suspicions: a fellow priest who looked similar to himself was being hunted down by the government, and Francis gave him his own passport to help him escape — a gesture that could have cost him his life.

He was never afraid of death, not even during his slum visits. In 2001, he visited AIDS patients, washed their feet and kissed them. The pope’s ceremonial vehicle, known in Italian as the papamobile, is typically bulletproof. But after his election, Pope Francis rejected the bulletproof version and chose to ride in a regular vehicle. Asked why, he said, “I know something could happen to me. But that is up to God.” He lived by divine will, not his own, with the humble devotion of a true religious mind.

A man walks near a painting depicting Pope Francis at the Gemelli Hospital, where he is admitted for treatment, in Rome, Italy, March 3. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

After becoming pope, he visited Israel and Korea — lands symbolizing division, like Israel and Palestine or North and South Korea. At those places, he echoed Christ’s message of forgiveness and reconciliation to the world.

He was a reformer, challenging Vatican bureaucracy and pushing for change in institutions like the Vatican Bank. His views on welcoming LGBTQ individuals and allowing Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics drew criticism from conservatives within the Church, which ironically led to some arguing that he failed to complete his religious reforms.

Pope Francis lived modestly and preached forgiveness and love. During his 2014 visit to Korea, he met with families of the Sewol ferry victims in Gwanghwamun Square and visited people with disabilities in Eumseong’s Kkottongnae. The root of all his actions and beliefs was Jesus Christ. As a Jesuit and monastic pope, his every word and gesture carried the scent of love and spirituality. Now, the world longs misses that fragrance.

On the day before his death, the pope appeared in a wheelchair on the second-floor balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and addressed the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, saying, “Happy Easter.” Through a spokesperson, he also called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY BAIK SUNG-HO [[email protected]]