Mournful Monday

Bank Holiday Monday. It’s rather grey and cold today, overcast with rain showers in the morning, and fleeting spells of sun in the afternoon. It’s been a flat day, the end of Easter, with many household tasks and not much relaxing. The new school term starts tomorrow, so V and Dash will have early starts. I took this picture of Daisy and Ronan in the garden, doing a better job of chilling out than I did today; the bright sunlight and stark contrast demanded a black-and-white photograph.

We heard on the radio that Pope Francis had died early this morning. This hit Raff deeply, as he has quite a devout Catholic faith. The rest of us are not particularly religious, but it was sad news nonetheless.

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, passed away on 21 April 2025 at the age of 88. The son of Italian immigrants, his early life was marked by simplicity and challenges, including surgery to remove part of one lung due to a severe infection in his youth. After joining the Society of Jesus in 1958, he pursued religious education and eventually became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, followed by his elevation to cardinal in 2001.

On 13 March 2013, Bergoglio was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, making history as the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Jesuit to hold the position. He chose the name Francis in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi after Cardinal Claudio Hummes whispered in his ear during the conclave, "Do not forget the poor." This moment would define his papacy, as he later expressed his desire for "a church which is poor and for the poor!"

From the beginning, Pope Francis demonstrated a marked departure from papal traditions. Rather than accepting congratulations while seated on the papal throne, he received cardinals standing. He opted to live in the Vatican guest house rather than the Apostolic Palace, wore simpler vestments, and used his iron pectoral cross from his days as archbishop instead of the gold one typically worn by popes. On his election night, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals rather than being driven in the papal car.

Throughout his 12-year papacy, Francis consistently advocated for the marginalised. He transformed the office of papal almoner into a creative expression of his concern for the poor, installing showers for the homeless under the arcades in St. Peter's Square and providing medical services. He established the World Day of the Poor to ensure they remained at the centre of the Church's attention. His commitment extended to migrants and refugees, making his first trip outside the Vatican to Lampedusa to highlight the plight of those crossing the Mediterranean and denounce what he called "the globalisation of indifference".

In his encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis linked social justice with environmental stewardship, connecting "the cry of the poor" to "the cry of creation." He called for a new type of economics with the human person, not profit, at its centre and spoke out against what he termed "savage capitalism." Despite his progressive approach to social issues, he maintained the Church's traditional positions on matters such as celibacy and women's ordination.

Even in his final days, Francis remained dedicated to his ministry. Despite his age and declining health, he participated as much as possible in Easter celebrations, delivering the 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing on the Sunday before his death. His last public appearance was in St. Peter's Square, and his final meeting was with US Vice President JD Vance. Throughout his papacy, Francis was an inspiring preacher whose homilies, deeply rooted in the Gospels and centred on Jesus, were accessible to people of all educational backgrounds.