Will Pope Francis' legacy survive?

The death of Pope Francis has left the Catholic Church in limbo.

Although the reforms the pontiff promoted were more symbolic than real, his restructuring of the Roman Curia, the door he opened to lay people and women to participate in Church governance, and the controls he imposed on Vatican finances to make financial management more transparent and pastoral are no small feat. Most importantly, he revived the momentum of the Second Vatican Council, which John XXIII defined as a "breath of fresh air," and renewed the vision of a Church that was more welcoming than regulating.

“The Church is not a customs house; our mission is not to control, but to accompany,” he was heard saying more than once when questioned about his support for welcoming divorced people or gay or lesbian Catholics, including trans people.

Certainly, Francis did not change the Church's doctrine in this or any other respect, but he did change the culture and the mentality of millions of Catholics, and it was a change that revitalized the Church and restored its dignity and moral authority.

Jesuit Sergio Cobo, a missionary in the Sierra Norte of Veracruz and advisor to Radio Cultural Huayacocotla, told me bluntly: "Pope Francis encouraged many people who had distanced themselves not only from the Church but from any practice or recognition of our faith (...) he opened the Church to young people (...)".

This data is essential for looking to the future. Without young people, there will be no Church for the 21st century. In Mexico, the country with the largest number of Catholics in the Americas, after Brazil (98 million according to the 2020 census), however, the percentage of the Catholic population has been declining in recent decades: 89.9% in 1990; 87.9% in 2000; 83% in 2010; and 77% in 2020.

I insist, Pope Francis didn't change doctrine, but he did change culture. No pope before him had listened and dialogued with such transparency and simplicity. All his predecessors, including the charismatic and popular Saint John Paul II, spoke from the Chair of Saint Peter, from the moral superiority of the papacy. Francis, on the other hand, assumed himself from the beginning as a human being, a sinner like everyone else, yet regarded with infinite mercy by God and called to the service of faith and justice, another Jesuit, Pedro Reyes, editor of Christus magazine, confided to me.

That profound experience, rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, and written on his papal coat of arms (“miserando atque eligendo”) made the difference, defined his message and his style, and allowed him to clear a path from which there is no turning back and which he will have to continue forward, Bishop Francisco Javier Acero acknowledged in a meeting with journalists, although, he clarifies, with a different rhythm and style.

Indeed, it will be very difficult to match the style of Pope Francis, who chose to be close to the people, getting off the popemobile and leaving the Apostolic Palace to walk among the community.

The man who walked the streets of Rome, as he used to in his native Buenos Aires; ate from the daily buffet served in the dining room to the residents of the Santa Marta house—and waited in line, like everyone else—and shared a table with the homeless; who instead of praying in his private chapel, liked to go outside the Vatican to his favorite temple—Santa Maria Maggiore—as any practicing Catholic does; the one who frequently slipped through the security cordon to approach people, greet them, hug them, offer a blessing or a word of encouragement; was eager to hear less orthodox voices and receive questions from young people and some journalists; he didn't shy away from any topic, even personal ones: his health, his neuroses, his excess weight, as evidenced in the interview he gave to the Argentine journalist and doctor Nelson Castro.

But the Pope's style would be anecdotal if it weren't for the moral leadership recognized in him by such diverse public figures and those of opposing ideologies, but above all, the affection and respect shown by the more than 250,000 people who came to bid him farewell these days and the millions who still mourn him from a distance.

However, in view of the upcoming conclave, the question remains whether the cardinal electors will want to advance more quickly and deeply along the path of merciful openness outlined by Francis, or whether they will elect a successor more responsive to geopolitical reality or who will embark on a return to tradition and ecclesial stability.

It's worth remembering the wise saying that whoever enters the conclave as a papal candidate leaves as a cardinal, for those who are busy guessing. But given the dizziness that changes produce, especially in an ancient institution like the Catholic Church, holding back on the opening will be a temptation that will float in the Sistine Chapel.