Legacy. What does one leave on leaving? Each of us leaves something – memories of love, of sorrow, of heartache, of good done, and good not done. Among Pope Francis’s legacies are grief – and hope.

The 266th pope, Argentinian Jorge Bergoglio, took the name Francis when elected by his fellow cardinals in 2013. The original Francis of Assisi strikes chords in many people with his rich, youthful exuberance channelled towards nature, animals and people who were poor or sick. His ability to see the pursuit of wealth as a leap into a voracious never-satisfied maw impelled him towards imitation of the poverty of Jesus Christ. The first pope to choose the name Francis also recognised that love trumps money.

Pope Francis recognised that love trumps money and that human relationships are paramount.Credit: AP

Pope Francis wrote four encyclicals, writings which constitute the highest level of papal teaching. Lumen Fidei (2013) discusses Christian faith as an enlightening journey with God. Laudato Sí (2015) is his groundbreaking manifesto on the environment, calling all to engage with the crisis of climate change.

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