The Deacon

With sorrow and deep gratitude, the Church mourns the death of Pope Francis, who passed into eternal life at the age of 88. His pontificate, marked by humility, compassion and prophetic courage, leaves behind a legacy that deeply shaped the Church’s understanding of her mission; particularly her call to diakonia, to serve in the person of Christ the Servant. In life and in death, Pope Francis reminded us that the Church is never more radiant than when she kneels to wash the feet of others.

From the beginning of his papacy, Francis emphasized a Church that “goes forth,” a Church not afraid to leave the comfort of the sacristy to be present in the margins. This vision found particular resonance in the vocation of the deacon, who stands at the intersection of the sacred and the secular, the altar and the alleyway. For Pope Francis, the peripheries were not places of strategic outreach but places of privileged encounter, places where Christ himself is already waiting. The deacon, by virtue of his configuration to Christ the Servant, is commissioned to go there and to be there, to serve, not abstract needs, but concrete persons.

Francis’ theology was not rooted in abstraction but in proximity. His writings and actions consistently pointed to a Church that embodies the mercy it proclaims. In Evangelii Gaudium, he declared, “The Church will have to initiate everyone … into this ‘art of accompaniment.’” This is the work of diakonia: a ministry of presence, of listening, of healing. The deacon is uniquely suited to this task, embodying the compassion of Christ, who draws near to the brokenhearted and the forgotten.

His emphasis on interior transformation resonated deeply with the spirituality of the diaconate. As articulated in my book, “Encountering Christ the Servant: A Spirituality of the Diaconate,” the ministry of the deacon must flow from intimate communion with the Lord. Pope Francis repeatedly reminded deacons, priests and bishops that, without this interior life, without the daily conversion of heart, ministry risks becoming sterile and mechanical. For Francis, the servant must first be one who listens, who allows himself to be touched by the pain of others, and who returns again and again to the wellspring of grace.

In this, the Holy Father called all deacons to live not as functionaries, but as icons of Christ the Servant. He challenged them to be men of tenderness, capable of being moved by suffering and quick to respond, not with solutions alone, but with the balm of mercy. His frequent outreach to prisoners, migrants and the disabled was not a side note to his papacy, it was its very heart. It was the Gospel incarnated in gestures that spoke louder than words.

His encyclical Fratelli Tutti offered a profound reflection on social friendship and solidarity, inviting the Church into a deeper commitment to fraternity across boundaries of race, class and culture. Deacons, as heralds of charity and unity, are summoned to live this message concretely, to become instruments of reconciliation in a fractured world and to model the kind of servant leadership that draws people into communion.

As the Church now enters the time of sede vacante, awaiting the election of a new successor to Peter, we turn our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving. Pope Francis has handed on to the Church a vision of diakonia that challenges and inspires. His legacy is not simply one of reform, but of transformation, a call to return to the Gospel and to live it boldly in the service of others.

Let us pray:

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May Pope Francis rest in peace, and may his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Come, Holy Spirit, guide the College of Cardinals in their discernment. Grant them wisdom and unity as they elect a shepherd after the heart of Christ the Servant, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.