In Africa, a person of Pope Francis’ moral caliber and spiritual substance holds the coveted designation of “ancestor,” whose role includes everlasting solicitude for the community he or she leaves behind.
Obituary
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Pope Francis pushed the U.S. church to move beyond the culture wars—with mixed results
Pope Francis was overwhelmingly popular with ordinary Catholics in the United States. But Francis’ priorities often failed to take root here.
Posted inFaith, Features
Pope Francis never stopped being a Jesuit
“Pope Francis entered the papacy as a Jesuit, governed as one and died as one,” Father James Martin writes.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
How Pope Francis changed the place of women in the church
As Pope Francis’ legacy is debated in the coming weeks, one key area for examination will be his advancements of women in the Vatican, whether his changes were sufficient and whether they will last.
Posted inFaith, Features
Pope Francis, trailblazing Jesuit with a heart for the poor, dies at 88
When the cardinals voted to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 265th successor of St. Peter on the evening of March 13, 2013, few of them imagined what kind of pope he would be.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
R.I.P. Roger Freet, a man responsible for some of your favorite Catholic books
Some of your favorite books by Christian authors came to be because of the careful and loving assistance of Roger Freet, the editor and literary agent who died on March 18.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Saints, souls and spirituality: Remembering theologian Larry Cunningham
Lawrence “Larry” Cunningham, a longtime professor of theology at Notre Dame University and a well-known writer on spirituality, sainthood and more, died on Feb. 20, 2025.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
I will forever be proud to call myself a student of Martin Marty
Martin Marty, a towering figure in the study of American Christianity, died last week. Joe McShane, S.J., one of his former graduate students, remembers him with gratitude.
Posted inLast Take, Politics & Society
Remembering Fay Vincent: MLB commissioner, baseball purist and friend of the Jesuits
It was with heavy hearts that we at ‘America’ learned of the death of Fay Vincent Jr. in Vero Beach, Fla., on Saturday at the age of 86.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) set a new standard for ex-presidents
As the ex-president who has lived the longest, Jimmy Carter became one of the trusted citizens in the world.