Catholic Londoners remember the 'transformative' legacy of Pope Francis

Members of London's Catholic community are remembering Pope Francis as a transformative leader who was dedicated to serving others and always stood up for what he believed in. 

The Vatican announced that Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church since 2013, died Monday morning — a day after his last public appearance on Easter Sunday when he blessed thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. He was 88. 

"People really liked Pope Francis; they felt he was a pastor at heart who really reached out to people. He connected with them, and they were inspired by his message," said Bishop Ron Fabbro of the Diocese of London. 

"He really did things that people saw and were deeply moved by, so I think they will be saddened that he's passed away and thankful for the leadership that he gave our church." 

The pontiff, originally from Argentina, was elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013. During this time, he ushered in a number of firsts for a pope: the first from Latin America, the first from the Jesuit order and the first to take the name Francis.

His 12-year papacy moved toward a more open, welcoming Catholic Church that prioritized empathy for the poor and disenfranchised — including Indigenous victims of Canada's church-run residential schools.

Francis also made history in the spring of 2022 when he apologized for the "deplorable" conduct of some members of the Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system. A few months later, he said that system had carried out a cultural "genocide."

Fabbro first met Francis in 2017 when the Bishops of Canada visited Rome; he said he was moved by the pontiff's emphasis on listening to people and learning about their experiences, including that of bishops.  

"I was really impressed with his concern for us as bishops, what we were experiencing, the challenges we were facing and I remember the message he gave us as we were leaving. He said 'Be close to your people,'" Fabbro recalled.

It's a message the diocese is putting into practice. 

The two met again when the Pope came to Canada and issued an apology to Indigenous communities, which Indigenous members of the diocese committee told Fabbro was really meaningful and signified the Pope's respect for reconciliation, he said.

Catholic Londoners feeling Pope's loss 

Mark Yenson, the interim vice-president of King's University College, a Catholic affiliate of Western University, met the Pope in December at a theology conference hosted by the Vatican, and described it as a "very human encounter."

"Pope Francis was a transformative leader for the Catholic Church. His time was a time of great transition where he challenged the church ... not to look inwards but to look outwards, to really be close to the marginalized in society and to be a listening community," said Yenson, adding the community in London is feeling the sadness of losing a leader who focused on building bridges. 

"Those I've spoken to are feeling that grief of losing somebody that I think people really saw as a father figure, somebody who was an important moral voice in a difficult political time, and so I think people are feeling a bit more lonely today with his passing."

Sister Patricia McKeon of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada said she appreciated the Pope's tenacity in both prioritizing his service, despite his frail health, and making progress in the Catholic Church. 

"He was solid. That man wasn't going to give into things that he didn't believe in, so I really had a lot of admiration for him and for the way he kept on going in spite of his health," she said "What was important to him was not so much his health, but the state of the world and what he could contribute to the betterment of it."

McKeon hopes the next pope carries on Francis's legacy of meaningful change.