Franciscan University joins the Church in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, a shepherd who tirelessly preached the saving message of Jesus Christ and the joy of the Gospel,” University President Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89, said in response to news of the death of Pope Francis, 88, on April 21. “I will always be grateful for the primacy that our Holy Father placed on the kerygma and the saving work of Jesus, reminding us that the saving actions of Jesus are for all people.” [Read the original press release here.]
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected to the papacy in 2013. He was the first pope to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis was also the first pope from the Society of Jesus, the first born in the Americas and from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside of Europe since the eighth century.
On the evening of April 21, Father Dave led the University community in offering prayers for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis at a Holy Hour. Father Nathan Malavolti, TOR, and Father Matthew Russick, TOR, both serving in Gaming, Austria, represented the University at the funeral in Rome on April 26.
“Father Matt and I were honored and blessed to represent Franciscan University at the funeral Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square,” said Father Nathan. “We rejoiced to express our gratitude to Pope Francis for his leadership of the Church throughout these past 12 years. We are particularly grateful for his warm welcome to our students in our Austrian Study Abroad Program when they attended his papal audiences during their pilgrimages to the Eternal City.”
Most Franciscan University students grew up knowing only Pope Francis as their Holy Father, and they responded to his death with prayers and personal tributes.
“I will always remember Pope Francis most for his great joy. Growing up in public schools in a culture of cell phones, isolation, depression, and individualism, I always saw Pope Francis as a light in the darkness. He reminded me we do not live in an age of gloom but in the glorious reign of Christ, who has conquered the darkness,” said John Paul Quejeda, a senior philosophy major from Manassas Park, Virginia. “With my brothers and sisters throughout the world, I will always remember with love and devotion our Holy Father, Pope Francis.”
Cristy Mercado Ezquer, a senior theology and catechetics major from Dallas, Texas, met Pope Francis in Rome about a year ago. Ezquer called that meeting “an undeserved gift from Our Lord.”
“Pope Francis sought the Lord’s will and led his Church in simplicity and humility, much like Our Lord himself. He smiled throughout it all, bearing his crosses with silent faith,” Ezquer said. “Through it all, the Holy Father always loved. Praise God for the gift of his servant’s guidance of the Church.”
James Leonard, a junior theology major from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, converted to Catholicism during Pope Francis’ pontificate, and he credits the late pope with helping him come to know the mercy of God through the tenderness and care of the pope’s words.
“It is said that each person communicates and reveals an aspect of the Father’s heart that no one else can reveal,” Leonard said. “Pope Francis showed forth the merciful love of God in a unique way, and this was expressed in his desire to walk along the way of God’s mercy with us.”
Pope Francis revealed that fatherly care for the students in December 2024, when he recorded a video message to them saying, “I send you students my greetings and my blessing. Continue forward and don’t lose your joy. Please pray for me and I will pray for you. May the Lord bless you.”
Father Dave had asked the pope to encourage Franciscan’s student body in the midst of their final exams when he and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Stephen Hildebrand had a private audience with him in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on December 7.
Hildebrand described how that audience impacted him.
“Pope Francis’ pontificate proved to be at a theological level at once difficult, challenging—often in a good way, and inspiring, but my own view of him will be forever colored by the chance to meet him and talk with him. His attention to the person, his tireless work ethic, his generosity, his warmth—these wonderful qualities deeply impressed me,” Hildebrand said. “I thank God for the opportunity to have met him and pray that the Lord receive him and bring him to perfect union with himself.”
Dr. Ronald Bolster, dean of the School of Theology and Philosophy, said that with his dual experiences of being formed by the Jesuits and working at Franciscan University, he was intrigued the pope chose the name Francis. He praised the late pope’s ability to reach out to many who had left the Church or tuned it out entirely in today’s modern world.
“Pope Francis loved his sheep like the Good Shepherd, and with his heart for those who may have strayed from the flock, he gave us access to an audience that has perhaps long stopped listening to the voice of Peter,” Bolster said. “It remains a great privilege for me to prepare the next generation of evangelists and catechists to take advantage of the door Pope Francis has opened for us.”
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. And may all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
