On April 21, Pope Francis passed away in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta at age 88. Known for his humble demeanor, the first Latin American pope left a legacy of advocating for marginalized and poor communities.

Born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents, Francis became a symbol of inclusive Catholicism. During his 12-year tenure as pope, he focused on reshaping how the Church applied its teaching by emphasizing humanitarianism over tradition. 

For many Catholics, this shift in doctrine was transformative. “[Francis] influenced me mostly by helping me stay in the Catholic Church,” said Julie Neilson, sister of Assistant Head for Student Life Charlotte Worsley, in an interview with The Urban Legend. “I found [the previous pope] Pope Benedict XVI very hard to follow because of his dogmatic approach to Catholicism.” 

Francis was considered progressive compared to past popes. “He criticized consumerism, environmental degradation [and] global warming,” Nielsen said. “He really pushed people to change their behavior toward the environment [and] poor and marginalized people.”

As the first Jesuit pope, Francis brought values of intellectual rigor and spiritual reflection to the role of the papacy. “[Francis] saw the world and acted based on his Ignatian Jesuit spirituality,” said Rev. Alejandro Báez, S.J., a Jesuit priest at St. Agnes Church, in an interview with The Urban Legend. “His leadership as pope was very much incarnated in the suffering of the people. One of his most famous phrases was that a priest or bishop must ‘smell like the sheep’ — meaning they must be close to people’s joys and sufferings.”

Francis contributed to the globalization of the Church’s humanitarian efforts. “He pushed the limits [in helping] the poor,” Neilson said. “He traveled to places that popes don’t typically travel to, to try to [encourage people to] embrace Catholicism globally and not just in the more affluent areas.”

Francis envisioned a more global, diverse future for the Catholic Church. His appointments to the College of Cardinals — the group of senior Church officials who elect and advise the pope — broadened the group’s geographic representation with a greater number of cardinals from Asia, Africa and Latin America. 

Francis was also receptive towards LGBTQ+ people practicing Catholicism. In a 2013 interview about the sexual orientation of priests, he said, “Who am I to judge?” However, he did not try to change the universal Church teachings against queer identities. 

His hesitations frustrated some progressives who hoped that Francis would make tangible changes to the Catholic Church. In an interview with Politico, Theologian Andreas Lob-Hüdepohl said, “They found out, using human science, that there are more than two genders — and yet the pope rejects this! Nobody knows where he goes, he’s always changing his mind. There’s no throughline in his doings, no logic.”

Conversely, many traditionalists viewed his reforms as too left-leaning. “[Conservative] bishops and cardinals aren’t just disagreeing with the pope. They’re saying he’s not a legitimate teacher of the faith,” said David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, in a 2023 interview with PBS.

Francis’s death led to the election of Pope Leo XIV — the first American pope — who spoke of Francis as a good friend. In a meeting with cardinals of the Catholic Church on May 8, Pope Leo said, “[Francis left an] example of complete dedication to service.” He added that he would take on Francis’s legacy and carry on the work he started.

“We hope [Leo] continues focusing on the poor and the needy, on ethics, the environment, and social justice,” Báez said. “He chose the name Leo XIV to echo Leo XIII, who defended the dignity of workers. This might be a continuation and expansion of Francis’s legacy.”

Some Catholics felt that while Francis shifted the tone of the Church, he did not dismantle the Church’s structures. “He couldn’t change the rules, but he could push the boundaries,” Neilson said. “I think that was his example that people will remember.”