It was just a few minutes after 10.00 am when my husband Tyrone told me with palpable shock, “Pope Francis has died.” We rushed to switch on the TV. The news was official. The Pope had really died. Talk about surprises! This was very unexpected. The previous day, Francis was warmly greeting people from the balcony of St Peter’s and even down in the Square. Who would have said that early the next morning, he would leave us—so unexpectedly! In the previous days, I had frequently reflected on the hidden God, the God who surprises us, who does not follow our human logic, and who provides us with the most unexpected surprises when we least expect them. This was one of them.
I had the grace of meeting our dear Francesco a couple of years ago, when, together with other fellow leaders from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (a network of Catholic LGBT groups around the world), we met him during the weekly audience in October 2023. I remember his words clearly, urging us to continue working with our LGBTIQ+ community: andare avanti! Keep working forward. Sow the good news. Sow hope. This is probably what he is telling us right now, as he leaves us for the House of the Father. While it may seem contradictory that he had to leave us during this Jubilee Year of Hope, he encourages us not to lose hope and to entrust our Church to the Holy Spirit, the fountain of all hope.
These are indeed bleak times for the world. Just a few days ago, my husband and I were reflecting on the political situation. Our world seems to be going back to the 1930s, with new authoritarian governments sprouting everywhere, with far-right leaders pouting nonsense and attempting to overturn the very foundations of the post–World War II international order, eroding the very basis of democracy. Indeed, Pope Francis seemed to be the only beacon of light, common sense, and clear care in a world that is becoming very, very dangerous—for everyone, especially the marginalised and defenceless minorities. Pope Francis seemed to be the only leader in his right mind, who urged us to care for our world, for the refugees, for the migrants, for the defenceless. His consistency, his love for the oppressed, his openness to people on the margins, was a shining light of hope in an otherwise bleak and dark world.
During this last Holy Week, I had reflected on the terrible state of affairs in our world and the increasing tensions and new hatreds sprouting everywhere. It seemed like Jesus’ own death had been futile because the world had not changed over the past two millennia. We are still killing people, maiming others, sowing hate against minorities, and harming our fragile world. Jesus’ death on the cross thus presented an enigma: God, who is almighty and all-powerful, choosing instead to show us the true way—not through some great deed, but instead through fragility and vulnerability. The way to renewal is not through some great act, but through fragile and vulnerable love, willing to give up one’s life to serve others. That is God’s way—the hidden way. Pope Francis too chose this little way, doing away with many of the trappings of glory the Papacy had been associated with, living rather modestly, choosing humble ways to reach out to the poor and weak. He also shared his fragility and vulnerability, choosing not to hide it with a false sense of mightiness, and instead showing God’s way—the path of fragile and vulnerable love. And following the steps of his Master, who even chose the death of night to rise from death, hidden from the eyes of the mighty, our dear Francesco left us very unexpectedly, very early in the morning, to our surprise and unexpected stupor.
Our Pope left us a great legacy that was itself quite unexpected. Very few expected to see him as Pope. Very few expected some of the most powerful changes he initiated in the Church—a sense of renewal and a re-living of the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The Universal Synod path he started is itself a sign of hope for the Church, which had seemed to become bankrupt after the horrible revelations of clerical abuse came to light. Now, we place our hope in the same Holy Spirit that moved the Cardinals to choose him, and the same Holy Spirit who moved Pope Francis to start this radical renewal of the Church. I know that this Conclave can well be a make-or-break moment for the Church. We pray that the Lord may guide the Cardinals to choose a Pope who can continue the great work of our holy Pope Francis, and who in turn can be the right beacon to light our world with hope.
May our dear Pope Francis rest in peace.
May we be gifted with another holy Pope.
Christopher Vella is the Co-Chair of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics and President of the Maltese LGBTI+ group Drachma.