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ON THAT FATEFUL day in 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio walked out on the balcony as the newly elected Pope, I knew almost nothing about him, but the fact that he was from South America gave me hope of a change after the long years of authoritarianism coming from the throne of Peter.

My enquiries with Jesuit friends produced mixed reviews. But we quickly saw indications of somebody different. He dressed more simply, he stayed in the guesthouse rather than taking up residence in the Papal quarters. It was the beginning of a period of considerable change. I loved it.

Francis was not perfect. He tended to speak off the cuff, and often contradicted himself. But he had a vision of where he wanted to lead the Church, and that vision gradually began to develop both in his writings and his actions.

His press conferences on the plane as he returned from his various journeys were often dramatic. None more so than when a journalist asked him about the relationship between LGBTQ people, and he replied ‘Who am I to judge’. This was such a contrast to his predecessor, who described such relationships as ‘intrinsically evil’. Clearly, we were in a new era in the Church.

Four things will stand out for me in my memory of this great man. First, when he called for people to ‘speak freely and without fear’. We had lived through many years when speaking freely was dangerous and contained significant fear.

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