The pope who wanted to open the church. The 10 most important moments of Franciszek's pontificate

From the internal reforms of the Church, to historical reconciliation with Islam – the Catholic Information Agency indicated the ten most important moments of the pontificate of Pope Francis. This is a portrait of the reformer pope who wanted an open, merciful and close to people.

Pope Francis He died on Monday at the age of 88after 12 years of managing the church.

Pontificate Pope Francis He was a time of bold decisions, strong gestures and attempts to transform the church into a more evangelical, open and community. As he proclaimed: “I prefer a clouded, wounded and dirty church, because he went out into the streets than the sick church because of the convenience and attachment to her own safety.”

Here are the 10 most important – according to KAI – the moments of Franciszek's pontificate.

1. Adhortation of “Evangelii Gaudium” – road map for the church

Pope Francis began his pontificate in March 2013. Already a few months later he announced the exhortation of “Evangelii Gaudium”, which – as the Catholic Information Agency reminds – became a program document of the Argentine pontificate. The Pope wrote in it about the need to change the church, which is to be in the “permanent state of the mission”.

“I dream of a missionary choice capable of transforming everything so that customs, styles, timetable, language and all church structures become a suitable channel more to evangelize today's world than to maintain the state of affairs”

Fragment of “Evangelii Gaudium” by Pope Francis

As Franciscan Kasper Mariusz Kaproń wrote for tvn24 magazinein his first exhortation, Franciszek said “about the Church, which is not in opposition to the world, but is a church in the world, not being from this world. It is a church that enters the world, but does not evangelize the strength of the weapon, but only by the strength of love. This is a church that enters into dialogue.”

2. Encyclical “Laudato Si '”

In 2015, Pope Francis announced the encyclical “Laudato Si '”, inspired by the message of his patron, Saint. Francis. It was – as Kai writes – “the first in the history of the Encyclical Church completely devoted to the protection of the natural human environment.”

Francis strongly criticized in it a model of unlimited consumption and appealed for responsibility for a common house – Planet Earth. He postulated “human ecology”, meaning “an indispensable relationship of human life with moral law, inscribed in his nature.”

3. Apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia”

A year later it appeared Document “Amoris Laetitia” (“Joy of Love”). In this apostolic exhortation about the family, summarizing the two synods of bishops, Pope Francis encouraged pastors to follow the “logic of mercy” towards divorces in new relationships and “responsible discernment” of their situations and suffering. The Pope expressed in her conviction that it should be “overcome the exclusion” divorced in new relationships and strive to integrate them by analyzing each case separately.

(…) Undoubtedly, our most important pastoral task about families is to strengthen love and help in treating wounds in such a way that we can prevent this drama from expanding in our era.

Pope Francis, a fragment of the apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia”

4. World Youth Day in Krakow

An important moment for the faithful from Poland were the World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016, whose slogan was: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

During a five-day visit to Poland, Franciszek met with young people from around the world, visited Jasna Góra, a former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp and a children's hospital in Krakow.

It was the only visit of Pope Francis in our country.

5. Jubilee of Mercy

As Kai reminds, on December 8, 2015, Pope Francis opened the jubilee year of mercy, which lasted until November 20, 2016.

At that time, the Pope sent 1071 “Missionaries of Mercy” to the world, among which there were 76 priests from Poland. He gave them the power of absolution from sins reserved exclusively only the Holy See and entrusted the task of proclaiming “the joy of forgiveness”. He also granted all priests the right to absolve abortion from sin – a decision that he later extended permanently.

The symbolic act of ending the jubilee was the closing of the door of the Holy Basilica of St. Piotr in Vatican – reminds the agency.

6. Summit on the protection of minors

2019 is another important chapter of the pontificate – in February there was a peak in the Vatican dedicated to the protection of minors in the church against sexual abuse. The main topics of the discussion were: “Bishops' responsibility, synodality and collegiality in settlement and transparency”.

As Kai notes, it was a breakthrough moment – the pope approved the new legal provisions improving the prosecution of sexual offenses to apply in the entire universal church, and also abolished the so -called Papal secret in these matters.

7. Catholic-Muslim documentary documentary

In the same year, Franciszek visited United Arab Emirates. The main purpose of the Holy Father's visit to the Middle East was to participate in the interreligious meeting. At its end, the Pope signed with the great Al-Azhara imam in Cairo “Brotherhood between people for world peace and joint coexistence.” As Kai writes, it was a historic gesture, and the document itself was “a milestone in relations between Christianity and Islam.”

The agency also points out that this was the first official stay of the head of the Catholic Church on the Arabian Peninsula.

8. The encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” – about brotherhood and social friendship

In October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic Covid-19Francis announced another encyclical – “Fratelli Tutti”, dedicated to brotherhood and social friendship. He wrote in it about the dignity of every man and the need for solidarity.

As he emphasized in the encyclical, Pandemia “awakened for some time the awareness that we are a world community flowing on the same boat, in which the misfortune of one harm to everyone.”

For the first time in over 200 years, the papal message was signed outside the Vatican walls – in Assisi. The last time it happened in 1814, when Pius VII, previously taken by Emperor Napoleon to France And imprisoned by him, he signed the Emistena “Il Trionfo” encyclical in his hometown.

9. Reform of the Roman Curia

An important point of the pontificate was also the reform of the Roman Curia, announced in June 2022 with the document “Praedicate evangelium” (preaching the Gospel).

The new Apostolic Constitution radically transformed the structures in the Vatican: pastoral care and evangelization were put first. The Pope also opened the door to entrusting secular offices, including women. It replaced the previous constitution “Pastor Bonus“(Good Shepherd) Saint. John Paul II from 1988.

Read more about the Apostolic Constitution “Praedicate Evangelium” >>>>

10. Synod of bishops with synodality

The culmination of the papal vision of the Church was the synod of synod, convened by Pope Francis to outline the future of the Church. The topic of the meeting was “towards the synod church: communion, participation and mission”. Unlike earlier synods, which concerned specific topics – like young people or family – this one was devoted to the same way of functioning of the Church. The Pope wanted the church to be more communal and more listened to the voice of the faithful.

The synod process began in autumn 2021 and for the first time in history took over all dioceses of the world, where meetings and consultations with the faithful were organized. In 2023, the first session of the Synod Assembly took place in the Vatican, and the second – and the last – in October 2024.

Among the 464 participants were 54 women who were first granted to vote.

“In each phase of the synodal process, the need for healing, reconciliation and reconstruction of trust inside the Church resounded, especially as a result of many scandals related to various types of abuse” – wrote in the final document of the second, last session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops adopted in the voting. It also talked about the need to recognize mistakes. “Following this path is an act of justice and the missionary task of God's people in our world and a gift,” says the synod's document.