Remembering Pope Francis: an ‘Inside the Vatican’ roundtable

“We’ve lost a friend on earth—and gained one in heaven,” says Gerard O’Connell as he mourns Pope Francis. In this special Inside the Vatican roundtable, recorded the day after the pope’s death, hosts Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle join their producer, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., for a heartfelt conversation about the life, legacy and final days of a pope who changed the Catholic Church—and changed them.

Gerry, who perhaps knew Francis more as a friend than as pope—having shared a personal bond for more than two decades, and whose children were baptized by him—recalls the last time he saw him alive: Easter Sunday, riding through the crowds in his popemobile. “That’s my last image of him,” he says. Colleen reflects on witnessing the pope’s final Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and thinking, “He gave his all to the job,” she says. “Really left nothing on the table.” Ricardo remembers the pope’s joy at World Youth Day in Lisbon and the line that has stayed with him: “‘Todos, todos, todos!’ This is the church for all!”

Together, they reflect on the global impact of Francis’ papacy: his outreach to migrants and the poor, his advocacy for peace and the planet, and his reforms on synodality and inclusion. Colleen recalls the pope’s final request, recorded in his last testament: It would be “just a simple grave in the ground with a stone over the top that just says Franciscus on it. No extra ornamentation.”