Pope Francis: A Shepherd of Belonging
- Guest Contributor
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Kyle Van Frank
Executive Director of FIRE Foundation of Denver
At 6:00 AM on Monday morning, my mother-in-law, visiting for the Easter Triduum, woke my wife and me up to inform us that Pope Francis had passed away during the night.
Heartbroken, we prayed for his eternal rest and for the next successor of St. Peter.
A Personal Testimony
Following our wedding on January 4 this year, my wife, Madison, and I had the great pleasure of traveling to Rome as Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year and attending Pope Francis’ weekly audience.
Each Wednesday, the pope holds an audience where thousands of the faithful gather to hear the word of God and a catechesis for that day. Read in several languages, it is a beautiful manifestation of the universal church. Also during the audience, there is time for newlywed couples (Sposi Novelli) to receive a blessing from the pope.
It is also customary during these audiences for special guests to be seated at the front and receive individual greetings from the pope.
As it would happen, the day Madison and I were there was also a day that local persons with disabilities had been invited to attend, at Pope Francis’ request. The joy and fervor with which he greeted each person with a disability was moving.
It was truly a great honor to share this day with a community that has blessed our lives so deeply.
It is hard to imagine a modern pope with more public and sincere displays of love for people with disabilities.
A Merciful Witness
Countless times, we witnessed Pope Francis embrace individuals with physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
We witnessed the late pope unshaken by the curiosity of a young child with disabilities wandering about the Paul VI Audience Hall while he preached.
We witnessed our shepherd embrace persons with disabilities in Rome and worldwide with love, dignity and sincere respect.
One story, in particular, remains a personal favorite.
In 2018, Peter Lombardi, a young boy with Down syndrome from Ohio, got the chance of a lifetime — a ride in the Popemobile.
Peter, a leukemia survivor, asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation for the opportunity to visit the Vatican and be kissed by the pope.
Upon seeing Peter, the pope greeted him and invited him to join him in the Popemobile. The two rode through the crowds at St. Peter’s for 20 minutes before the pope blessed Peter and returned him to his parents.
This act of kindness and love gave Peter a hope and joy that you and I can only imagine.
A Sacramental Advocate
Pope Francis was also a tireless advocate of ensuring that people with disabilities receive the sacraments, a point he reiterated throughout his pontificate.
In his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, Pope Francis wrote, “All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization” (EG 120).
In his 2020 Message for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, he added that those with disabilities especially “should be welcomed and included in programs of catechesis in preparation for these sacraments” (§3). The pope went on to say, “Precisely because they have been grafted onto Christ in Baptism, they share with him, in their own particular way, the priestly, prophetic and royal mission of evangelizing through, with and in the Church” (§3).
Amen!
Through this emphasis on the sacraments, Pope Francis embraced those with disabilities out of love and justice.
His loving and merciful reminder to ensure all the faithful receive the fullness of God’s grace through the sacraments was a shining light of truth for many too vulnerable to advocate for such access themselves.
A Prayerful Father
Pope Francis also held people with disabilities close to his heart in prayer.
In December 2023, he named his monthly prayer intention for persons with disabilities.
Speaking on his decision, he said, “People with disabilities are among the most fragile among us. Some of them suffer rejection, rooted in either ignorance or prejudice, which then marginalizes them."
Pope Francis further called the faithful to reject the throwaway culture of our society, fully embracing those with disabilities in a spirit of true inclusion. He called on us to remember the inherent dignity of those with disabilities and to always recall their value as children of God.
During his 12 years as Pope, Francis not only called on Catholics to more fully recognize the dignity of those with disabilities at a universal level but also called on the Church to embrace these truths in our local communities.
The pope invited us to recall the reality that “creating a completely accessible parish does not only mean eliminating physical barriers. It also assumes that we stop talking about 'them' and start talking about 'us.’”
True inclusion in the Church calls us to reach the hearts of all people.
A Compassionate Leader
Customary to Pope Francis’ papacy was his call to not only talk the talk but get up and walk the walk.
The pope’s work of inclusion for people with disabilities was certainly not excused from this spirit of practicing what we preach.
Speaking on the International Day of Disabled Persons in 2022, he said, “There is no inclusion if it only remains a slogan, a formula to be used in politically correct speeches.”
Pope Francis pushed Catholics to think beyond niceties and to dig deeper into the structures and systems of our local communities to better engage and include people with disabilities in the liturgy, in our schools, and in the very life of the Church.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Pope Francis’ work of including individuals with disabilities was his understanding of the true goals and aims of inclusionary work.
Those of us working in ministries to promote inclusion in the Church do not do so for inclusion’s sake, but rather, to foster a true and whole sense of belonging. From belonging, we can experience the great gift of communion with God, his people and the fullness of his Church.
This journey from inclusion to belonging to communion involves embracing the Holy Father’s call to ensure catechesis and sacramental preparation for children with disabilities. It involves making our parishes more accessible. It involves fostering opportunities for neurotypical children to form authentic friendships with children with disabilities.
Inclusion is possible. Belonging is possible. Communion is possible.
We are all members of the Body of Christ, and the late pontiff’s work to ensure recognition of such reflects the justice at the center of the mission of inclusion.
In the words of Pope Francis’ 2020 message on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, “inclusion should be the first ‘rock’ on which to build our house.”
As we reflect on Pope Francis’ legacy and await the next successor of St. Peter, I pray for a leader who will continue Pope Francis's work to help us fully embrace our call to love one another and foster a true sense of belonging for our brothers and sisters with disabilities.
May God guide our Church to his will and continue to bless his people on Earth.
