Pope Francis and His Legacy of Conservation

May 9

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When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was introduced as the 266th pope on March 13th, 2013, it was Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran who announced to St. Peter’s Square and the rest of the world that Jorge Bergoglio had chosen the papal name: Francis. In the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, no other pope had chosen to name his papacy after Saint Francis of Assisi, the 13th-century saint known for his humble lifestyle and love of creation.

Officially known as the patron saint of animals and later named the patron saint of ecology by Pope John Paul II in 1979, Saint Francis of Assisi was the founder of the Franciscan order. Saint Francis’ commitment to evangelization, devotion to mirroring the human Jesus, and natural charisma spoke to Bergoglio and became the central characteristics of Pope Francis’ papacy.

In Pope Francis’ encyclical entitled Laudato Sí (Praise Be to You), he outlined the way in which both social and environmental challenges were intertwined with one another. His publication became a key piece of Christian literature and was printed just two months before the United Nations talks that would produce the Paris Agreement in 2016. The agreement was adopted by 196 parties focused on the goal to “limit the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Two years later, in 2018, he engaged in conversations with some of the world’s leading oil and gas companies to speak about the influence of their industry and the responsibility they possess in keeping our climate and its inhabitants safe. These conversations further illustrated Pope Francis’ deeply held belief in the protection of the miracle of life, regardless of form.

When Pope Francis first stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and addressed the people huddled in St. Peter’s Square as light rain fell during that chilly evening in March of 2013, he acknowledged the significance of his election. He was the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years to assume the papacy. He stated: “You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have come almost to the ends of the Earth to get him…” In turn, Pope Francis’ papacy spread to the ends of the earth as well. He used his role in a pastoral fashion—building bridges, healing wounds, and speaking to everyone everywhere.

Pope Francis spoke to world leaders, oil executives, members of the LGBTQ community, young people, and those of different faiths with the same love and compassion he had for those within the Catholic Church. For Pope Francis, no conversation was outside the scope and jurisdiction of the papacy, not even the environment. His voice was an especially influential one in the field of conservation and continues to echo in work being done to protect the animals and the environment throughout the world.

Pope Francis, thank you!