I was awakened on the morning of April 21 by a text, stunned out of sleep as I read a note of condolences from a Muslim friend on the passing of Pope Francis. Even in death, Pope Francis was revealing his impact on interreligious relations. Since that moment, I have received dozens of similar messages from Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and members of other religious traditions. “A revered figure of faith and wisdom,” one message read. “Transcending religious boundaries, his leadership inspired people of all faiths to uphold the values of kindness, justice, and service to humanity.” Pope Francis’ message of solidarity with the poor and the forgotten deeply touched our religious partners. The Holy Father’s commitment to social justice was rooted in his Christian theological perspective that saw the image of God in everyone he met, regardless of religious background or stature in life. As Francis taught in his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”: “By acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity … between all men and women. … Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.” His message of interreligious and ecumenical collaboration was repeated in many other speeches and writings, including the “Document on Human Fraternity” (2019), co-authored with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed el-Tayeb. Even more than Pope Francis’ words, however, his actions resonated deeply with Christian and interreligious partners. For example, his close relationship with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the “first among equals” among bishops in the ancient Orthodox churches, began when this Orthodox leader attended Pope Francis’ inaugural Mass. His presence was a first for an ecumenical patriarch since the formal split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches in 1054. These two Christian leaders met regularly and found common cause in many matters, particularly around the ethical and spiritual roots of creation care. They had planned to meet in Turkey later this year to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. In a final gesture of profound significance, at Pope Francis’ requiem mass on April 26, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was afforded a place of great honor near the altar, recognizing his closeness to Francis and his unique standing among all Christians. Jewish partners recall fondly that Pope Francis was in close relationship with Jews, dating to his friendship with Rabbi Skorka and the Jewish community in his native Argentina. In what a local Jewish rabbi respectfully calls “acts of performance theology,” Pope Francis was often seen enacting his valuation of the Jewish people by joining them in places of significance for Jews, such as praying at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. In these instances and during other times of fellowship with Jewish leaders, Pope Francis modeled in his actions the call of Vatican II to deepen Jewish-Catholic relations. During his papacy, Francis visited 13 Muslim-majority countries, perhaps most notably his trip to Iraq in 2021. Despite the risks involved, Pope Francis went ahead with the visit, giving needed support to the struggling Christian community in Iraq. He prayed at the birthplace of Abraham in Ur, a location often referred to as the ancient cradle of monotheism. During that visit, Pope Francis also went to the city of Najaf, where he held a landmark private meeting with Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Al-Husayni Al-Sistani, a revered leader among Shia Muslims. Pope Francis convened many ecumenical and interreligious dialogues during his papacy, including a first-of-its-kind Vatican Buddhist-Catholic dialogue attended solely by U.S. Buddhist and Catholic leaders in 2015, including seven Buddhists and Catholics from greater Chicagoland. The Holy Father was always intent on bringing people together, living out his call to build bridges, not walls. Pope Francis’ legacy as a bridge-builder, a humanitarian and a humble, compassionate religious leader will long remain in the minds and hearts of not only Catholics, but also of other Christians and members of all religious traditions.
About the Author Daniel Olsen is the director of the archdiocese’s Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
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