“Todos, todos, todos.” These words, chanted by Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023 before a crowd of young people from all over the world, came spontaneously from the heart of a pope already physically fragile, but still animated by an exceptional inner strength. May all find a welcome in the church! The church is at the service of humanity, especially the poorest and most fragile.
The new historical situation that Pope Francis diagnosed requires new answers to the question: How can we proclaim the Gospel today? Francis resolutely committed the Catholic Church to meeting this challenge. Faithful to his patron saint of Assisi, he began by emphasizing “the joy of the Gospel,” Evangelii gaudium. He inevitably experienced moments of profound sadness, but one of the most astonishing aspects of his character was his ability to remain serene. During one of the first audiences he granted me, I asked him how he always managed to do so. He replied that he didn’t know, but that it had been that way since his election. And he added that he prayed a lot to the Holy Spirit.
Every year he received me in a private audience. For our ecumenical community, which has no canonical status in the Catholic Church, this was of great significance, a sign that we are in communion. And for me personally, his welcome was an invaluable support for my ministry as prior of our community, which was entrusted to me after the violent death of Brother Roger, our founder, in 2005.
Brother Roger came from the Reformed Church, while I am Catholic. Francis always encouraged me in our attempt to move forward as an ecumenical community and in welcoming young people from different churches who come to Taizé from all over the world. He was the pope, but also a father and a brother to me. This relationship of trust continued with Brother Matthew, our new prior since December 2024, who is Anglican.
I’m sure that it was his familiarity with the Holy Spirit that inspired the Synod on Synodality. He needed the courage of faith and great inner freedom to convene it. Having been invited to take part in both general assemblies, I can testify to the huge change this synod introduced. In line with the Second Vatican Council, it moved the Catholic Church from a pyramidal conception—narrow at the top with the pope, cardinals and bishops holding most authority, and growing wider at the base with lay people in largely passive roles—to the image of a community of all the baptized. In faithfulness to the living tradition, this synod opened the doors to reforms that make the church more faithful to the Gospel. It may well prove to be the most important event for the Catholic Church since Vatican II.
The Synod on Synodality had a powerful ecumenical dimension. One image remains engraved on our hearts: On the eve of the synod, in St. Peter’s Square, the pope was surrounded by 19 other church leaders from various denominations, invoking God’s blessing on the people of God gathered in prayer. And for the work of the synod itself, Francis dared to invite delegates from other churches, not simply as observers, but to take part in the round-table discussions and the plenary sessions.
The reception of the synod in the church will take time. It is a great help that Pope Francis called for a church assembly to be held in 2028—it was one of his last initiatives while in the hospital—and the new pope will undoubtedly carry this out. What characterizes the whole synodal process is that it is both a profound spiritual and theological renewal, and a reform of structures. A “poor church for the poor” that shows the face of Christ: this is the legacy that Pope Francis leaves us, not only to the new pope but to everyone in the church. A renewal of faith throughout the people of God is essential if we are to find the courage to move forward.
It was the courage of faith that characterized Pope Francis’ entire pontificate. Have we paid enough attention to his deep faith? Do we understand enough about the roots of his passion for church renewal and his commitment to the good of humanity and our planet? It was in his last encyclical “Dilexit Nos” (“He loved us”), which has yet to find the echo it deserves, that he spoke most openly about the sources of his faith and hope.
He was discreet, almost secretive, about his personal prayer. But we can sense that he went, as far as humanly possible, to the very depths of faith in the love of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He undoubtedly struggled always to return to trust in God’s personal love for him, “a forgiven sinner,” as he defined himself. Staying close to God in this way literally impelled him to go toward others, with total respect for each person. The other—whoever they may be—is loved with the same love of God. His actions and words flowed from this source. He began his letter devoted to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux with this quotation: “It is trust and nothing but trust that must lead us to Love.” In his ministry as universal pastor, Francis’ love expanded to all dimensions of humanity—reaching across cultures, conditions and circumstances—while being embodied in very concrete acts, sometimes very humble ones, especially toward people affected by suffering.
Francis also had an extraordinary capacity for listening and caring. His ability to be fully present to people and situations was undoubtedly a visible expression of his interior life, constantly nourished at the source by the Holy Spirit. Before the first private audience he granted me in 2013, I was a bit worried, wondering how much he knew about our Taizé community—he was the first pope since Pius XI not to have met Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé, personally. What a wonderful surprise to discover that he was very much aware of our ongoing life. And during another audience, he surprised me again by immediately asking me a question on a subject we had discussed the previous year, as if we were resuming a conversation that had barely been interrupted.
The main task of every pope is to strengthen the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to sustain in humanity the courage of hope. With Christ, God has laid the foundation for a new creation. Like a seed sown in good soil, the good news of the Gospel sprouted and grew in the life of our beloved pope, then blossomed for the good of the church and far beyond. His words and deeds, and the way he bore his illness in his old age, are a living and luminous witness to the Gospel. His example inspires us to let God’s love for all—for “todos”—bear fruit in our own lives and in those around us. Thank you, Francis!
