Before the College of Cardinals elected Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio pope during the most recent papal conclave in 2013, the overwhelming consensus was that there would never be a Jesuit pope.
His election was “doubly surprising,” both because he was a Jesuit — Jesuits take a special vow not to seek out higher offices in the church and none had ever been elected pope before — and because many “thought his time had passed,” said papal expert Daniel Cosacchi, Ph.D., vice president for mission and ministry at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit institution.
Cosacchi, a scholar and author known for his work on Pope Francis, the papal name Bergoglio took in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, explained as much while reflecting on the life and legacy of the first Jesuit and first Latin American pontiff, who died Monday at the age of 88. Jesuits, Cosacchi said, hold as among the most important parts of their ministry the person of Jesus Christ.
“And so Pope Francis’ pontificate really had a tremendous focus on the person of Jesus Christ, and that comes out in a lot of the things that he wrote and that he said and that he did,” Cosacchi said. “He was a constant proponent of the needs of the poor and the marginalized. He was always going to the margins. He was always talking about the needs of the immigrant and the refugee.”
“The Jesuits talk about a faith that does justice — the service or faith and the promotion of justice — and so Pope Francis obviously believing in Jesus, believing in God, is of utmost importance,” he continued. “But at the same time, what does that belief call you to do? How does it call you to act? And Pope Francis was always saying that that means you need to do certain things: You need to act with justice.”
Having a Jesuit pope lead the church meant a great deal to Jesuit institutions, Cosacchi said, noting the sometimes “tense” relationship between the Jesuit Order, or the Society of Jesus, and the papacy at points throughout history. Jesuit schools, including the University of Scranton and Scranton Preparatory School locally, regard Francis’ 12-year pontificate as a “badge of honor,” he said.
“Because what the Jesuits have always wanted to do is be in union with the pope,” Cosacchi said. “It’s always been the mission of the Society of Jesus to serve the pope, to be loyal to the pope, and so now to have a Jesuit pope is to say, ‘OK, this is as close as we can get and to say that we are of course loyal to the pope.’ But also, too, to say that this is one of our own. He’s not from Scranton, but there’s a sense in which he’s one of us.”
“To say that Pope Francis was one of our own is something that we share with Jesuit institutions not only in the United States, but throughout the world,” he said.
Teddy Michel, regional director of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Northeastern Pennsylvania, agreed. The nonprofit organization is grounded in the Catholic Ignatian tradition developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit Order in the 16th century.
“The mission of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps is more of an invitation to individuals age 50 and above to engage in the active Catholic social teaching of service and reflection,” Michel said, adding of Pope Francis: “We’ve lost a wonderful example of a servant of Christ who served with all his heart his whole life.”
“In the Ignatian Volunteer Corps what matters most is that we allow God to love us, and then be authentically us in receiving and sharing God’s love in the world, in the community,” he said. “And that’s just a fancy way of saying we’re all given that special mission, that special purpose on our heart. When we can tap into that and then engage in the service and reflection we can be the eyes, ears, hands, feet of God — and you just never know when you might be the answer to someone else’s prayer.”
Of the 135 cardinal electors set to meet in the next conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor, five are Jesuits, Cosacchi said. And while that number may seem small, it’s five times the number of Jesuits who served as cardinal electors in the 2013 conclave. That lone Jesuit, Bergoglio, became pope.
“I don’t necessarily see any of those (five) Jesuits as front-runners, but if you asked me at this point before the 2013 conclave if Francis was a front-runner I would have also said no,” Cosacchi said. “I truly believe … that this next conclave is going to be one of surprises.”
Reflecting again on Pope Francis’ legacy and works, Cosacchi said the only thing that concerned the pontiff was “faithfully following the Gospel.” Among myriad examples, that was clear Thursday, Holy Thursday, when Francis met with some 70 inmates at the Regina Caeli prison in Rome despite his health challenges, Cosacchi said. It was also clear on Easter Sunday, the eve of his death, when he blessed thousands of the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“Literally to his dying breath he was proclaiming the Gospel to anyone who would listen,” Cosacchi said. “And that Gospel was a message of love and faith and hope.”