‘A time to celebrate his legacy’: Catholic scholar on the death of Pope Francis

Pope Francis died Monday at the age of as preparations for his mourning and burial and the process of selecting his successor get underway religious scholars around the world are beginning the process of assessing the pontiff s legacy and its impact on the Catholic Church I m very sad because I loved Pope Francis and multiple people throughout the world did disclosed Mathew Schmalz Professor of Religious Studies at College of the Holy Cross and Founding Editor of the Journal of Global Catholicism This is also a time to celebrate his legacy and wonder whether that legacy will continue Schmalz disclosed Francis made a mark on the church unlike any previous pontiff I think he will be remembered for opening up the Catholic Church in strategies in which it had never been before he mentioned Synodality which is allowing more lay participation in the governance of the church outreach to women to the LGBTQIA group in all these options Pope Francis required to establish a church of mercy one that s open to the world in its full complexity When considering what sort of leader might be selected as Francis successor Schmalz suggested the church may opt for a less change-oriented pontiff The Catholic Church might want to take a breather since these reforms have been wide-ranging and deep he explained It might be time for the Catholic Church at least in the mind of particular Cardinals to effectively catch its breath and elect perhaps an older pope one who is pastoral in the sense that Pope Francis was but also one that s not going to bring any key changes But we ll have to see Schmalz reported Pope Francis funeral services will reflect the humble life he chose to lead He didn t want the kind of formal lavish utility that often accompanies the death of popes Schmalz mentioned I think what s majority critical is he s not going to be buried in the Vatican he s going to be buried at the Church of St Mary Major which reflects not only his own personal devotion to the Virgin Mary but that he didn t see himself as someone who was effectively imprisoned by the Vatican that his was a papacy of outreach and his final resting place will reflect that