Pope Francis Called Us to Hear the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor

One of the panels on the Compassionate St. Augustine obelisk that used to be in St. Augustine SSJ Motherhouse gardens.

With the death of Pope Francis on April 21st, the Catholic Church has lost a leader who was the first of his kind in significant ways and the first pope to choose the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis was the first pope from the Americas, the first from Latin America, and the first Jesuit pope.

One of the things that struck me upon reflection was that he was 76 when he became pope in 2013. In only 12 years as pope, he had done much to try to make the Catholic Church more pastoral, more concerned for the poor and the needs of the earth (Care for God’s Creation), and more joyful and loving. In his last encyclical, on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he wrote of how our world seemed “to have lost its heart.” He pointed out that wars, socio-economic disparities, and uses of technology “threaten our humanity.”

Purple mums blooming in SSJ Motherhouse gardens in St. Augustine.

St. Francis of Assisi lived in the Middle Ages and was known for living simply and in vowed poverty, for having a joyful love of God and all of God’s creatures and creation, and for being a peacemaker. He was a powerful witness of God’s love in a countercultural way. He is also the patron saint of Catholic ecology.

Pope Francis, in his totally different time and culture and role as pope, will be remembered for his humility, his promotion of an extraordinary Year of Mercy in the Church, and his teachings in his Laudato Si’ encyclical on the interconnectedness of all of us in webs of relationships on our beautiful garden planet, for promoting more dialogue in the Church in the recent Synod on Synodality, and many other things.

Potted plant on SSJ Motherhouse porch.

May our Dear Neighbor, Pope Francis, rest in peace. May he pray for all of us and for the Church and our world. I will remember him fondly and am so grateful for the 12 years he spent himself in service to all of us.

Wildflower blooming in SSJ Motherhouse gardens.