As Pope Francis concluded his visit to the United States this past weekend, you might have seen media outlets and your social media feeds flooded with images and details of the historic event. If you aren’t Roman Catholic, or are just unfamiliar with the Church and that guy in the white, you might be wondering why the Pope’s visit was a big deal. Furthermore, you might be wondering what sets this Pope apart from his 265 predecessors. As it turns out, there is much that made Pope Francis’s visit to the United States significant and sets him apart from other pontiffs.
To begin, the Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome and the Head of State of Vatican City, a walled-off, independent part of Rome and headquarters of the Catholic Church. You can probably garner the significance of being the head of one of the world’s most prominent religions, but his other two titles are just as important.
As the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis can trace his lineage back to his very first predecessor: Saint Peter. Saint Peter was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ and one of the most prominent leaders of the early Church. In the Gospel of Matthew (part of the Bible, specifically the New Testament), Jesus seemingly grants him this role: “And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19, KJV). You can see the aforementioned “keys of the kingdom of heaven” on the coat of arms for both the Holy See (another name for the Diocese of Rome) and Vatican City.
Now what does any of this have to do with the Pope’s recent visit to the United States? Well nothing much, except it serves as an explanation that the papacy (the office of the Pope) isn’t anything new. Also, this is the first time that any Pope has addressed Congress, despite being invited by the House of Representatives’ Speaker John Boehner several times, who, interestingly, announced his resignation a day after the Pope’s speech. While some may think that this violates the Separation of Church and State, it’s not like the Pope walked in and made a decree that Congress has to follow. Instead, he was probably invited to speak since almost a third of Congress and two thirds of the Supreme Court are Catholic and perhaps derive their stances on issues from their faith.
As for the story of Pope Francis himself, it’s a bit more interesting and hopefully not as much of an info-dump. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936 to Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before entering the seminary (“priest school,” if you will), he worked as a chemical technician, bouncer and janitor. In 1958, he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as a novitiate (novice). Before becoming ordained, he taught literature and psychology at two universities. After his ordination, he also taught theology at his alma mater, Colegio of San José. Between 1992 and 1998, he had risen from an auxiliary bishop (an assistant to the Archbishop) to the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Three years later, he was appointed a Cardinal (stick with me here, there’s a lot of terminology in the Catholic Hierarchy) by Pope John Paul II (another famous pontiff). Supposedly he received the second-most amount of votes to replace John Paul II after the latter’s death in 2005, only being beaten by Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI. Eight years later, Pope Benedict XVI retired due to his advanced age and subsequent health problems. Jorge Mario Borgeglio was named the 266th Pope, taking the name Francis, after one of the most famous and inspiring saints, Saint Francis of Assisi of Italy.
Even in just the first three years of his papacy, Pope Francis has had a huge global impact. He is the first Pope from the Americas as well as the first Jesuit Pope. Now what difference does that second part make? Well to start, Jesuits are an order of Roman Catholic priests, founded by a former solider named Ignatius Loyola over 500 years ago. They are dedicated to social justice, missionary work and education. Along with the three vows all Roman Catholic priests take (poverty, chastity and obedience), Jesuits also take a fourth: dedication to the Pope and whatever missions the Church may send them on.
I believe that Pope Francis’ trademark and admirable humility is a result of his Jesuit background. I might be a little biased, however, as I went to a Jesuit high school and even considered becoming a Jesuit myself. While I no longer consider myself Catholic, I have nothing but respect for the Jesuits, what they taught me and how they live their life. For example, instead of wearing the customary extravagant robes of the papacy, along with its signature red shoes, Pope Francis opts for a simple white cassock and black shoes. Instead of residing in the lavish Papal Apartments like his predecessors, he prefers a small two-room residence in Casa Santa Marta, a humble, hotel-esque guesthouse for clergy visiting the Vatican. He even arrived at the White House in a small, black Fiat 500L, a compact car with a base price just under $20,000. Instead of having lunch with Congress after his speech, he chose to share a meal with over 300 of the homeless in the Washington, D.C. area.
Now do any of these actions make him a good Pope, let alone a good person? No, but he does much more than just broadcast his humility, as some would claim. On May 24, 2015, he issued an encylcical, a letter sent to all Roman Catholic bishops, that listed climate change as one of the gravest dangers we face. As you can guess, this didn’t bode well with the conservative faction of American politics, nor was it the only thing they would come to disagree with him on.
In his speech to Congress this past Thursday, Pope Francis criticized the death penalty, anti-immigration, laissez faire capitalism (specifically its systematic flaws and subsequent ill effects) and the lack of religious tolerance, all of which (some, not all) Republicans hold dear. Fox News pulled no punches, labeling him the Catholic Church’s Obama and even a false prophet. Now, while the Pope is still against abortion and same-sex marriage, why is it that these conservatives, who pride themselves on their faith, align themselves against the very leader of that faith? My theory? Perhaps they are slowly beginning to realize that they’re not living very Christ-like at all.
