His Last Easter Passover

By Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv.

Pope Francis made his final, heartfelt plea for peace to the world in his Easter Sunday blessing to the city of Rome and to the world. Although too weak to read the words himself, Pope Francis sat in a wheelchair on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he had first been introduced to the world twelve years earlier. On that night twelve years ago, the square was packed with people from the ends of the earth, curious about this Bishop of Rome and were quickly warmed by his smile, his simplicity in speech, his dress, and by his request for their prayers, which brought the crowds to silence. His pontificate began in the latter part of Lent of 2013, and ended on Easter Monday of 2025.

His installation was on the Feast of Saint Joseph, just before Holy Week that year, and in the midst of all the gestures and actions that were revealing his personality and priorities, Pope Francis surprised everyone (and annoyed quite a few) by celebrating the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday in a prison, by washing the feet of prisoners, including women and Muslim people. The Church of the poor and for the poor that he desired was not theoretical; his mission of greater inclusivity began right away. On his final Holy Thursday, mere days before his departure from this life, although too weak to celebrate Mass, much less to wash feet, he once again visited a prison- bringing in his person the real presence of Christ.

On his final Good Friday, prayers for his health and well-being were offered, but he was not seen in the Basilica for the Liturgy. Nonetheless, he gifted the world with beautiful reflections on the Way of the Cross, which were read during the customary night service at the Colosseum. Including so many of the themes of his entire papacy, the Holy Father led us in reflecting on the contrast between the economy of gratuitousness exemplified by Jesus pouring out his life for us and an economy of exclusion which prolongs suffering for many people while providing prosperity for the few. It was as if Francis himself was in the role of Jesus at the Eighth Station, offering comfort to the afflicted women even in the midst of his own suffering. Pope Francis once more turned to the words of his namesake and concluded his Via Crucis with Saint Francis’s Prayer before the Crucifix, praying, “grant me Lord wisdom and understanding that I may do your true and holy will.”

This first Jesuit pope and the first pope from Latin America truly brought those on the peripheries of the world to the center of the Church’s attention and concern. He drew near to human suffering, often deflecting the bright lights shining on himself to illuminate so much suffering and death that was willfully overlooked by many of the powerful. From the Vatican—now offering showers, food for the homeless, and housing for refugees—to war zones around the globe, where Pope Francis intentionally went to draw near to the wounded, he saw Christ in the suffering and called us all to go beyond ourselves to encounter Christ in them. May we follow his example!